


Day Walkers

by Kirabaros



Series: Chronicles of Absolution Season 1 [1]
Category: Chronicles of Absolution, Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-04 18:37:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 47,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14026269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirabaros/pseuds/Kirabaros
Summary: 1.01. It was a promise she had made a long time ago and she kept it. Following the path of absolution, Angela, a 500 plus year old dhampir teams up with Sam and Dean Winchester to stop the rise of something only known as a Day Walker.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Starts mid canon season 2 of Supernatural.

_The night was like any other night. The shadows clung to the walls allowing perfect hiding places for anything and in particular, that which goes bump in the night. It was like any other night on the hunt. The added bonus was that the rain was coming down hard creating sheets of water that formed miniature lakes in the streets. That was good. Less chance of anyone seeing blood spilt._

_The hunter watched the city below with a practiced eye earned by her years. She didn’t mind the rain. It never mattered to the things she hunted. They did their business, day or night, rain or shine; that was the way of things with them. She crouched on top of the building she chose to use for surveillance and peered through the rain allowing her heightened vision to scan the pitiful souls caught in the downpour._

_She had been on the hunt for two days after having caught wind of mysterious deaths. She had been assigned to this town and she would see it through. She watched and waited. That was the hard part… and the boring for some: the waiting. Yet the good hunters know that the patience in waiting always paid off. Maybe not the way you wanted it but it did pay off._

_She waited until something caught her eye. Looking harder, she spotted her prey. With a grim smile, she stood up and looked down from her perch. Then with a swift movement, she leapt off the building and plummeted down to the ground where she landed with a graceful bow. Slowly she stood up and looked at her prey._

_Almost as if it sensed her, it turned around. It looked human but the hunter knew what its true face was. The creature revealed the second set of fangs protruding from the gum line. The hunter smiled her grim smile as her hand pulled out the one weapon she carried on hunters. The flash of silver was intimidating to the creature but then it began to laugh a deep guttural laugh._

_The hunter stole glances to the side and let her senses feel. She sensed them. The creature was not alone. Others had come and she was surrounded. They encircled her baring their fangs and roaring the animal growls. They could take her out, if she wasn’t what she was. She maintained the brim smile and said, “Do you really want to go this route?”_

_The one she had been following laughed and replied, “Do you want to tangle with the Coven? With Suarez?”_

_The hunter paused. She knew now what she was dealing with and it was an old wound, one of many, that had never healed. She remembered. The pause though was a mistake. In a flash, the others swarmed to attack. Thanks to her reflexes she avoided the first attempt at grabbing her. She whirled around and brought her blade up and sliced the head off. The head fell to the ground, the edges of the wound burning as it cauterized._

_The hunter began to move using her skills, abilities that had been honed from years of training. She used her skills in martial arts to fend off her attackers while she took them one at a time. Kills came when she sliced their heads off with her blade. Every time she attacked though, more seemed to spring out. She was vastly outnumbered. The only way to take them all out was to go out fighting. They would send others. She fought harder and the number of bodies grew._

_Suddenly she was hit from behind. She fell forward and she lost her grip on her blade. She watched as it slid away through the puddles of water. The creatures couldn’t touch it so that wasn’t a worry. Suddenly she felt what seemed to be a pipe come down on her back. She grunted in pain as it hit hard. She had little recovery time for the others grabbed for her. They held her up and the creature she had stalked came up to her. With a single finger, the creature ran it down the side of her neck._

_The hunter bucked in response. She hated it when they did that. She hated the feelings that came with it… and the memories. She growled in anger and tried to bite the offending finger. The result was a hard backhand across the face. She glared at the creature, her normal tawny eyes glowed, becoming bright orbs in the night. The creature merely laughed as he brought up a blade. The hunter recognized the glint of the metal. She struggled to free herself. Suddenly the blade came at her, towards where her heart was…_

****

The open road lay open like a carpet as the Impala ate up the miles like it was nothing. Dean stared straight ahead giving in to the urge to floor it during the empty stretch of highway. He glanced over at the passenger seat where his younger brother sat in a deep sleep while muttering something under his breath. Dean began to toy with ideas to wake him up. One idea came to him. He reached for the opened Twinkie package on the seat and took the uneaten pastry out. With care, Dean squeezed the whipped cream out onto his brother’s nose until there was a sizeable lump of it on his nose. Eating the leftovers, Dean gave a wicked grin as he cranked up the music to a deafening level and waited for the reaction.

Sam had been deep in a dream. It had been the same dream he had been having for several nights now. He kept dreaming of a woman who was a hunter and she was hunting a group of vampires. Every time she was overpowered and she was being stabbed by a knife but one that made her afraid. He never got a good look at her face except her eyes. They were tawny and carried a sparkle in them even when they changed into those glowing orbs.

He had gotten to the part where she was getting stabbed when he heard the sudden blare of music. Sam woke with a start and bumped one of his hands on his nose smearing the whipped cream over his face. Same scowled at his brother while looking for a remotely clean napkin in the car. Finding one he hastily scrubbed the whip cream off. “Jerk,” he muttered while scowling at his brother.

Dean grinned, “Bitch. So what was it this time Sasquatch? You failed the bar exam?” Dean loved ribbing Sam about his academic days at Stanford.

Sam threw the napkin at Dean and replied, “No.” It was a long pause before he added, “It was her again.”

Dean was surprised that he managed to keep the Impala on the road when he heard that. Normally he would tease Sam about dreaming of sexy women but this was something different. It was on par with the nightmares Sam occasionally had about his girlfriend Jessica dying. “Same dream?”

“Yeah.” Sam stared out at the window at the countryside. “Dean it’s always the same. She’s alone and she fights and she dies.”

“Yeah well, it was her choice. You said she was a hunter and she did what we would do: go down fighting. It’s what any hunter would do.”

“I don’t know Dean. She looked…” Sam trailed off. He really couldn’t explain to his brother what he saw with her. “Maybe it was a vision but no headaches or anything like it. It felt like I was supposed to know.”

“Sam you and I both know that visions have something to do with what that demon did to you.”

“Yeah but those were like pounding headaches. This wasn’t.”

“I don’t like it Sammy.”

That effectively shut Sam up since he knew that any mention of the yellow eyed demon was bound to have Dean go on the warpath. It had been that way ever since their father died. Funny thing was that any time they ran into other people like him, Sam got the distinct feeling that they were being watched and it was the same feeling he got when he had the dream of the woman. He never said anything about it to Dean since he was sure Dean would certainly blow a gasket on that one.

The silence became deafening so Sam changed the subject, “So you found a job?”

“Yeah. Missing people turning up bled dry.”

“Sounds like vampires.”

“I’m betting the same thing.” Dean looked over at his brother to see him deep in thought. He was still thinking about the dream. It did seem to be a strange coincidence that Sam would have this dream about a hunter being killed by vampires. Dean didn’t know what to make of it and it bothered him that his little brother would obsess about it for days afterwards to the point he would lose sleep and not eat. For a while it was fun to tease him about obsessing over a girl but it was getting to become more frequent. He didn’t know what to do. So he kept silent and kept driving.

****

It had been nearly a year since she paid a visit to her old friend and still he managed to make her feel as if she had never left. Angela looked at the mantle above the shelf. She recognized a few of the pieces resting on their display holders, in particular the blade that few could barely stand in the presence of without cowering in fear. She ran a hand over it feeling the history that lived within it amazed that it would let someone like her touch it.

Angela directed her gaze to the other objects on the shelf. One was the amulet of Isis, a rare find for her and she managed to get it away from a bunch of demons who wanted to use it to destroy the goddess. She was not particularly religious but she was devoted in her own way to the goddess of immortality. She smiled at the memory of when the goddess gave the amulet to her as a reward citing that she was a beloved daughter. It was a comforting thought but not enough to erase the debt that she needed to pay back.

She was lost in thought when a voice from the doorway sounded, “I see you’ve made yourself comfortable.” Angela looked up to see the familiar presence of the one who brought her back from the edge of total darkness. She replied, “You just have a way of making me feel at home.”

The man in the doorway merely laughed in a good natured way before entering the room. He stood in front of Angela and crossed his arms while smiling at her. “I always said you were more than welcome to stay here. Most everyone does.”

“Always the generous soul, Seer.”

“Don’t call me that or I’ll call you by your title.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Angela narrowed her eyes as they started to become glowing orbs.

The man before her reacted similarly with his eyes starting to glow like hers, “We can test that. I can tell you’ve been itching for a fight.” Suddenly the glowing in his eyes was gone as he continued, “Which is why I asked you to come.” He began to pour some wine into two glasses out of old fashioned hospitality. “The Council has gotten wind of an old adversary of yours that has set up shop in Chicago.”

“I’ve quite a few of those. Probably in every species of demon,” Angela replied as her hand instinctively went to her side to make sure her weapon was still there. “Who is it this time? Lucius and his clan of werewolves? Azazel?”

The man whom she called Seer recognized the tone of voice she had gotten when she mentioned the one demon that she pursued still whenever she caught wind of him. He suppressed the sigh knowing that if he lectured her about it, she would brush him off. He knew the reasons behind the obsession and he sensed that it was the one thing that kept her going. For once though he was glad that he had someone else on the list rather than that demon, though this time he was going to have to deal with rage at some point. He replied, “Suarez.”

Angela merely stared aware that she could feel her eye teeth begin to elongate as well as the surge of power in her blood. She took a deep breath and forced her body into some semblance of calm. She then asked, “What is the bastard up to?”

The man offered Angela a glass of wine which she accepted with the manners that had been instilled in her when she was a child. His gaze never left her as he took a drink of the wine he had poured. He then replied, “Sources for the Centurion stated that he is attempting something big. What, they have is no clue except that a large amount of people have been going missing only to turn up later drained of their blood.”

“Sounds more like a feeding frenzy to me. Nothing the Centurion can’t handle. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go back to tracking down the banes of my existence,” Angela replied as she downed the wine as she would a shot of whiskey. She set the wine glass with extreme care on the nearest side table and headed towards the window.

“Their souls were taken.”

Angela paused. There were many rituals that involved blood but blood and souls were something else. She looked back at the man and said, “I’m listening.”

“As I said, the Centurion doesn’t know. The Council wants to send in a member, preferably one noted as a Chaser to find out.”

“Great when do I start?”

“They didn’t want you.”

Angela tried hard not to touch anything lest she break it. “What?”

“The Council thought that it should be someone else,” the man replied. He held up hand to prevent her from saying anything. He continued, “They didn’t want your past history with Suarez to cloud the issue.”

“They think I’ll get revenge? Brendan, the only revenge I live for is hunting down Alighieri and Azazel. Suarez is an annoying fly.” Angela clenched and unclenched her hands to prevent her from doing anything rash.

Brendan, the Seer, looked at his friend curiously. He was impressed that in all her years of living and since he first met her, she managed to control her anger. He knew she was a reluctant soldier for the Centurion but she did the jobs she was given and without much complaint. He knew that she wouldn’t take it well when he told her that the Council didn’t want her for this job and he told them that. At least they were willing to compromise. He replied, “I said the same thing when they contacted me. I suggested a compromise. Instead of sending just the one, they send two. You and one to ‘watch’ you and make sure that you complete the job.”

Angela let out a rather unladylike snort as she replied, “And who is the ass wipe that’s supposed to be babysitting me?”

“I’m rather touched that you consider me an ass wipe and not a nuisance,” a familiar voice came from the doorway.

Angela turned towards the owner and her scowl changed into a smile. “Akira? You?”

Akira Kuran looked at the woman who had become her friend and confidant ever since she learned about her heritage with a smile. “The Council wanted an older Chaser but your friend has connections and is very persuasive so here I am.”

Angela crossed the room quickly to give the girl a sisterly hug. “As long as you don’t do anything stupid with those new powers.”

“I’ve gotten better.”

“And what does the fang boy have to say?”

“You know he doesn’t like it when you call him that,” Akira gave a mock scowl at her friend. “He was livid but I know how you like to work alone and the Council thought it was best that I tag along. Something about needing experience.”

Brendan didn’t mind that he was being ignored while the two talked. Angela had few that she would call friends in the world and he knew why to some degree. Akira was one of the few to break through that tough wall of bitchiness to find out that there was a woman capable of feeling. Such things were rare in life and even for one with a lengthy lifespan like him, you learn quickly to make the most of it. He watched as they conversed debating on whether or not to tell her what else he knew about the job.

He knew she had given her word and she firmly believed in keeping so much that it was like making a blood oath. She would be bound to it until the day she died. Yet he knew that she toed the line with it because of another promise she had made and reluctantly. The vision had been clear about Angela and he knew he should let it be but he couldn’t. He had a close friend of the brothers drop a hint to them as soon as the Council made its decision. She would be pissed at him but he could take it. He would much rather have her face them, meet them, than go through the rest of her life watching from the shadows.

Akira noticed the look on Brendan’s face and asked, “Something else we should know about this?”

Brendan knew he was on the hook now. He might as well face the music. He relaxed into his most comfortable demeanor and replied, “Just something more. There are other hunters on the trail. Ones not part of the Centurion.”

“Great. We have to babysit humans who think waving a big gun makes them a hunter. Why couldn’t it be someone from the clans?” Angela made her displeasure with mortal hunters clear. She had to deal with them constantly and it left little to be desired regarding any positive impression.

“They are of the clans, just a very distant branch,” Brendan replied. Here comes the bombshell. “They are the Winchesters.”

Akira recognized the name from all the reports from the Council. Apparently the Winchester brothers impressed them even if their brand of crazy was downright foolish at times. She, herself, admired their loyalty to family, a concept that she Angela embraced. She glanced over at her friend and noticed that she actually lost some coloring. _So she knows them._

Angela felt as if someone had given her a punch to the stomach that completely winded her. It couldn’t be true. If it were, she couldn’t follow. She had made a promise to stay away. _But you gave your word to watch out for them._ A battle raged inside of Angela and she felt herself grow a little faint at it. She finally said, “The Winchesters are there?”

Brendan never expected the reaction he was seeing but then again that was Angela. He quickly poured another glass of wine and handed it to her. “That was what the Council’s sources reported. They still want you to go in.”

Angela downed the wine quickly much like the first. She reveled in the rush it gave and was aware that some color must have returned to her face. She could do this. She made a promise and she would keep it. She then felt a tug at the back of her mind. _Dammit! I thought it had gone away._ She straightened out and schooled her features into a stern glance. She replied, “If it is the will of the bloody Council then I will obey.”

Akira noted the change within her partner. She knew that Angela had secrets that she never shared and she never pressed for. She figured that her connection to the Winchesters was one of those secrets and quite possibly a painful one. She could only hope that her friend would be able to face whatever was bothering her and not let it kill her. To reassure her friend she added, “That includes me too.”

Brendan nodded. This was going to be a difficult trial for her.


	2. Chapter 2

The city had its history. It had its history in vice, blood, tragedy and achievement. It was the kind of city that one could get lost in and not be found. Suarez surveyed the city from his perch on top of the Sears tower. He loved this town.

Suarez heaved a sigh as he looked down on the pitiful meals on legs that lived in the night. They thought they had a tough life. It was nothing more than a short fragile one. They were prey and he was the predator, well one of many that sought the ultimate food: blood. Down there rivers of it and he could practically smell it. It was a gift of his age.

Suarez was an old vampire. Through the centuries, he was known by hunters for his barbaric treatment of the corpses he left behind and was in fact famous for it. He had come across one too many young hunters thinking to bag themselves a legend. They failed in one of two ways: death by him or they scampered back to their clans with their tails between their legs. No one had the gall to stand up to him… except her and she wasn’t a hunter.

Instinctively, Suarez placed a hand on his upper arm near his shoulder and rubbed it. It was sometime during the Mexican-American war. He managed to blend in on the side of the Mexicans. It was war and a good cover for a little bit of indulging. It was easy to make it look like the enemy did it. He was on one of his more lucrative hunts for a meal when he saw her. He recognized her from the cantina where she played coy for money. She had followed him and stated that she was sent to end his reign of bloodshed.

He had seriously underestimated her. She knew how to use a sword and she bloody shot him with a cavalry pistol. He had become pissed and tried to grab a hold of her to break her neck. It was then he saw her eyes. They glowed and he knew that there was only one kind of being that did that and he hated them with a vengeance. His attacks became fiercer, with him trying to run her through with his blade. She countered with her own blade.

He had cut her a few times and he nearly had her. It was when he had her at his mercy that she somehow managed to come up on top and jam that blade of hers into his arm. It burned like hell, like he was burning from the inside out. She pulled it out as he punched her away. He barely managed to escape and the wound left a distinct scar. Occasionally it ached, as if it never healed. He vowed that if they ever crossed paths, he would kill her.

Suarez smiled as he was reminded of his vow while staring out at the city. He knew she would come but she will be powerless to stop it. The ritual was nearly ready to get underway. Just a few more meatbags and he could summon what he needed to bridge the gulf between his kind and the day walkers or dhampirs. She could come and try to hunt him but he would see to it that she would join the pile of corpses. She would pay.

Standing up, he walked over towards the door that led to the stairwell. He was joined by his right hand man. Together they went towards the elevators. They were joined by a very pretty woman finished for the day. Suarez looked at his partner and gave a slight nod. The night was still young.

****

Angela leaned towards the open window as she drove the car. She loved the feeling of the wind blowing on her face and through her hair. It never failed to produce a calm when she drove. It was calming her now as she barreled down the empty highway towards the windy city. It was dark and the only source of light came from the car’s headlights but she kept a steady 70 mph.

Akira sat in the passenger side of the car saying nothing but observing her companion. Ever since they left Brendan’s place and hit the road, Angela had said nothing. She had this hardened look that she only got when she was on the hunt. Akira debated on what to say of anything. She hadn’t known Angela very long but the experiences they had together could be the equivalent of a lifetime… if they were human. As it stood, Angela was the eldest and thus knew more than Akira ever could. Yet Angela always welcomed any input from Akira when they were on the hunt and it was just as well since the Ancient Mysteries was her specialty.

Akira wasn’t worried about Angela’s ability to drive in the manner she was. Angela’s reflexes defied the possible at times. She looked over just as she heard Angela sigh. She asked, “So you want to talk about it?”

“About what Princess?”

Akira fought the urge to punch Angela in the arm. “About what happened, at Brendan’s… Bitch.”

Angela gave a short laugh. Whenever she and Akira talked and were annoyed, they always resorted to name calling. It was actually fun since Angela never had a sibling. She then replied, “What do you want me to say? Yes, I know the Winchesters. I knew their parents.”

“So what’s the problem?”

Angela said nothing but instead turned on the stereo. She popped in one of her CDs and cranked it up. The speakers came to life blaring out the best hits of Kansas. She grinned as one of her favorite songs came on and she cranked up the volume to near ear splitting levels. She then started belting out lyrics.

Akira merely shook her head and bore with the music in silence. Angela always retreated when someone got to close to that part that was her soul. Many members of the Centurion respected Angela for her abilities but Akira heard the whispers. They often said that Angela was a cold-hearted bitch. She did the job but she didn’t care about the mission. Akira knew that wasn’t true and when she heard that, she told them that Angela did care about the mission. They looked at her as if she were stupid. Akira realized that what Angela showed her was a rare privilege. She looked at her friend singing away and wondered what caused her friend to be the way she was.

Angela was aware that she was being studied and ignored it. She knew Akira wanted to know about her association with the Winchesters and why she was reluctant to go on this job and actually see them. It was complicated and was compounded by the fact that she felt responsible for everything that happened in their lives. She tapered off her singing as she drifted back into thought.

_She watched as a little boy ran around the front yard playing a game. He was happy and it showed on his face. His mother came out holding the baby and called to the boy to come in for lunch. She watched with a slight smile at the happiness of the mother. Mary had been a good friend and deserved happiness and she would keep her word and stay away but she would also keep the secret promise of watching out for Mary._

_The memory flashed forward. She was driving through Kansas on a job when it hit her like a jolt. She sensed something and it startled her enough to jerk the wheel. She thought it would go away the longer she stayed away. It was unavoidable that she come to Kansas. She thought to check up on them and then move on. Plain and simple. The sudden feeling was one of fear and it was from… Sam? It perplexed her since she hadn’t been by in months. She could not ignore it and she wasn’t far and she knew she wouldn’t forgive herself if she didn’t know if Mary was all right. She floored the engine and shot off into the night._

_It was too late when she got there but she had to try. The house was ablaze and the fire fighters were trying to quench the flames. As she pulled up, she knew this was not a normal fire. She snuck into the house and raced through the flames. She went to the source, the nursery. She looked around and up and saw Mary. A laugh made her turn around and she saw him. She started forward and he warned her back. He said, “I warned you. You follow and you reap the consequences.” Then he was gone._

_She stood in the middle of the burning room and stared up at Mary. Something inside broke. She knew. Everything good that came her way was ruined. She walked over to the window and peered out. She saw the boys with their father. She watched and she knew. She ruined their lives._

_Years passed and the boys were adults. John called her and told her he found the demon and he wanted her to join in on the hunt. She didn’t know why but she said she would help out. They pursued the demon. She was almost too late but she managed to make it to the shack. The demon was gone but Dean and John needed a hospital. They never saw her as she slipped away but she followed. She kept Dean breathing until the medical team came after the accident. Later John called her in. When she looked at his face, she knew what he was planning yet she listened to him. He asked her the most difficult thing he could ask of her._

_She listened to John. She tried to get out of it citing that he couldn’t possibly understand what he was asking. It was useless to say it when he already knew what he was getting into. He then told her that he knew that she knew Mary and that she cared about her. He then told her that she could come up whatever reason she did it but he wanted her to do it. He then told her that even though he didn’t know her as well as Mary did, he trusted her with the lives of his most precious treasure. She sucked in her breath. Trust was a fragile thing for her. As far as she was concerned she didn’t deserve the trust John was placing on her. Yet she felt a tug on her heart. Slowly she said, “I will watch over them for you.”_

_The look John gave her was one of relief in the knowledge that his sons would be looked after. He then said, “I know you want this demon. Just make the boys your priority.”_

_She knew that but she knew that John needed to hear it. “They will be watched over but I won’t interfere. I—I can’t interfere. It’s a long story.”_

_“I know. Just remember that I trust you as Mary trusted you.”_

_That was the last she saw of John. She knew the deal had been made when she walked by Dean’s room and he was up and breathing. She smiled at the sight of the two brothers together but it was a sad smile. She wondered why she was worming her way into their lives and meddling even further. Deep down she knew she could only bring them more pain because she was unclean. Everything she touched gets ruined…_

Angela drove steadily ahead listening to the music. She had missed Akira’s question all together until Akira broke rule number one and reached over and turned off the music. Angela looked over with a scowl on her face and was met by an equally intimidating scowl. Akira said, “I was asking if you wanted me to drive. I **can** drive you know.”

“Only if I’m stoned,” Angela replied curtly.

“You mean when you’re not being an ass,” Akira replied. She then sighed, “Angie, going on this hunt is bothering you more than you care to admit. I want to know if it is going to be a problem. I know you’ve had run ins with Suarez and his coven and that could be considered a vendetta in of itself. When Brendan mentioned the hunters you nearly fainted. Obviously it is something big and you don’t have to tell me. I just want to know if you’ll be focused.”

Angela sighed. She wasn’t being fair with the one person who was treading on dangerous ground in terms of breaking the emotional defenses she had built up over the years and only let down little by little around her. “I will be focused for the job. Thing is I don’t know if I will be able to stand it if we meet face to face.”

“Just be nice,” Akira offered with a slight smile. “If you want the honest truth, they’ll probably hold their sawed off shotguns filled with salt rounds at us thinking that we’re demons since we’re probably going to show up with our powers revealed like a strip tease.”

“Maybe. I never met them but I’ve watched them often enough.”

“Pervert.”

“Not so,” Angela retorted with a slight smile. “I guess I’ll worry about it then. We’ve got about two hundred miles left to go. Need a break?”

Akira gave a slight nod. It was the bare minimum but it was acceptable. She knew Angela was big on keeping her word. It would do.

****

The bar was like any one of the dives that they went to. It carried that signature smell of beer and cigarettes. Sam sat across from his brother, watching him down the greasiest bacon cheeseburger he had ever seen. He gave a slight shake of his head as he picked at his plate which had some semblance of healthy in it. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the woman in his dream. He had to know if she was a real person or just a figment of his imagination. He believed it was a vision. Looking up, he saw his brother looking at him, chewing his food. He said, “I’m fine Dean.”

“Sam.”

“Look you don’t want to hear it Dean. I think it is a vision and maybe we’ll run into her.”

Dean continued to chew his food with a complete disregard for his lack of table manners. He stared at Sam trying to see if his brother was going off the deep end with this. He replied, spraying bits of food, “Then again it could be nothing. Let’s just focus on the job Sam.”

“Maybe you could focus on your table manners,” Sam muttered as he began digging into his dinner.

“I like my cheeseburgers and a brewski,” Dean gave a grin as he took a drink of his beer. The look on his face was priceless as he tried to figure out why his beer tasted so flaming hot. He looked at his brother who was trying to look innocent as he ate. “You didn’t.”

Sam sat back in his seat and pulled out a bottle of Tabasco sauce and grinned. “Oh yes.” He then began laughing.  “Payback for the Twinkie.”

Dean scowled at his brother as he reached for a glass of water. He couldn’t be that mad though since it did have Sam laughing. Having Sam laugh meant that his mind was off of whatever he was brooding about. Still this was war. “Just wait and you’ll get yours.”

Sam continued to laugh as he finished his dinner. As much as it annoyed him that their pranks tended to escalate, he enjoyed getting back at Dean. This time it took his mind off the dream. Of course he was going to have to watch his things since there were at least twenty things he could name that Dean could do just to his clothing alone.

Sam was still laughing about it when they arrived at the motel they found for the night. He tried to be alert while he paid for the room with one of the fake credit cards the business called for. So far Dean hadn’t seen fit to try anything though his brother was pretty good at pulling the wool over the eyes and he always did it when you least expected it. Sam had picked up a few of Dean’s tricks but he had to come up with a few of his own. Once the room was paid for and the keys issued, the two brothers headed for their room. Sam slipped the ‘do not disturb’ sign on the knob and locked the door. Dean was pulling out the covers, on one of the beds. He paused and looked at Sam, “What Sasquatch?”

“Nothing.” Sam went to the table and placed his laptop bag on the table provided and pulled out his laptop. When he flipped it on, he was bombarded with images from a busty Asian babe website. He tried removing it and found that it had been frozen. He scowled, “Dean.”

“What?” Dean walked over and looked at the laptop with a nonchalant look. “Hey she’s hot.”

“You froze my computer.”

“So? You’ll fix it.”

Sam didn’t bother to argue. No matter what he said Dean would always get on his computer and go to the porn sites. Every time he did it, the computer froze and Sam would have to spend hours fixing it. With nothing else to do, Sam got to work and began toying with the idea that he should have a password lock put on the laptop. It was late by the time he fixed everything and Dean was asleep snoring. With a tired sigh, he closed the laptop and sat for a while drifting back onto his thoughts until sleep overtook him.

Sam woke up to find himself in a room that was decorated with emphasis on quality. He looked around and found that he had fallen asleep at a table covered with papers. He looked around in confusion trying to figure out why he wasn’t in the motel room and where his brother was. He stood up and looked around the room. It was obviously a study since there were shelves of books. Taking one out, Sam found it to be written in a strange language along with pictures of things that looked like something out of a fantasy nightmare. He put the book back when he heard something come from outside. He walked over towards the window and pulled back the curtains.

All he saw was a quiet street. Occasionally a car drove down it at a slow pace. Sam could see children playing in the small lawns and the streets. Looking out, he could make out the skyscrapers in the background. Recognizing a few, he was glad that he was still in Chicago but where the hell was Dean? Something downstairs caught his attention. How did he know that it came from downstairs? It was all too confusing but Sam had to know what was going on. He strode purposely to the door and pulled it open.

It was pitch black outside and the rain was pouring down. Sam looked around wondering how he managed to get outside from that one room. It then occurred to him: he was dreaming but this was different. It felt different. He looked around, trying to see if anyone or anything was going to come out swinging and trying to kill him. Dean was nowhere around so it got Sam thinking that maybe it was a dream.

Sam continued walking through the pouring rain aware that he was on some dark street, possibly and alley. Suddenly something swooped down and knocked him over, snarling in his ear. He felt hot breath and tried to get up but this thing was too strong. It flipped Sam over knocking the wind out of him. It grabbed him by the throat and looked at him. He recognized the thing a vampire and struggled but it only added pressure to his windpipe. It brought its mouth down towards his neck when suddenly it was yanked off with such force that it dragged Sam along the ground.

Sam felt the scrapes on his palms and took deep breaths glad to be alive. Once he got control of himself, he looked up to see someone battling the vampire. It was hard to tell since his rescuer was wearing a dark trench coat and the back was facing him. He watched, aware that he was getting drenched in the puddle he had landed. This was similar to his dream but there were differences. Instead of a whole football team of vampires, there was just the one. Sam didn’t have time to ponder much on the numbers since the vampire launched itself forward only to be grabbed by his rescuer in a headlock and then with minimal effort, the head was ripped off.

The movement shouldn’t have shocked Sam but it did. The first thing that crossed his mind was that his rescuer was a demon. He got to his feet, feeling the pain from the scrapes in his palms and stood there looking at his rescuer looking down at the decapitated body. The person looked like they were barely breathing. Sam called out, “Hey.” When the person didn’t respond, he took a step forward, his foot splashing in the puddle.

Suddenly Sam saw flying black coat and was nearly pushed out of the way. He saw a flash of silver and right where he had been standing was another vampire with something sticking out of its chest. The vampire writhed on the ground as if burning from the blade until it was still. The trench coat walked over and pulled it out to reveal a knife of some sort. The trench coat turned to show its face to Sam.

Sam was stunned. It was her! His other dreams he was not in it. It was like a distorted lens but here now he was physically in front of her. He called out again, “Hey, are you real?”

The woman looked at him with a stern glance but something trickled in her eyes. Suddenly the rain stopped to give Sam a better look at her. She was shorter than he was but complemented his height. Athletic build with olive toned skin with dark brown hair and peering in the darkness, he could make out the tawny eyes. She looked at him holding the strange blade before she walked over, “Yes. I had to be pulled into dream walking again. Bloody dream king.”

Sam looked around confused as she walked past him. He then began chasing after her, “Wait. What are you talking about?”

“Dream walking… and I’m pissed.” The woman paced up and down the alley looking for signs of something.

Sam kept up easily. He had no idea what she meant by dream walking yet he wanted answers. He continued, “So then what are we doing here?”

“No idea unless the Dream King wants to play a joke and make my life a living hell.”

Sam resisted the urge to chuckle. The woman was like a feminine version of Dean though he got the feeling that she would be a lot more volatile than Dean if given the chance. It didn’t answer his questions though and only seemed to form more. “Dream King?”

“Ruler of the Dreamworld… well the nightmare portion at least. Likes to take the dreams that pass from the Queen’s realm and draw in sleepers to live in twisted versions. The most sensitive ones become dream walkers in his realm and he toys with them.”

“So you’re going to kill him?”

“Can’t. Ancient god thing. Dreams and nightmares must exist. It’s the bastards like the demons that manipulate the natural order that have to be stopped.” The woman paused in her search as if she realized something. She then slowly looked at Sam with a piercing gaze. “What are _you_ doing here?”

Sam immediately went on the defensive, “Hey I woke up here. So this should be my dream and in fact it is except you were surrounded by more of those vampires. So the question is why are you here?” He crossed his arms for good measure. He had no idea why he was here but he had a gut feeling that this woman knew the answers and she was being stubborn about it. He looked at her with a look that said he wasn’t going to budge.

The woman glared at him and retorted, “I dream walk but not by choice… stupid boy.” Suddenly she looked around as if she heard something. “Did you do anything else besides follow me?”

Sam looked at the woman with a confused expression. “No. I woke up here.”

“Then we have to get you out. You shouldn’t be here.” The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a marker. She grabbed Sam’s hand and began to draw on his right forearm something. She didn’t know what but she went with it. “This will force you out of this realm and back to your body. They should also be able to keep you out until the job is finished.”

Sam watched as she drew a series of symbols on his forearm. “What are you talking about?”

“There are forces that many hunters don’t know about that are old and near forgotten. The one who pulled you here is trying to kill you and your brother.” The woman finished scribbling her sigils on his forearm. “Now I’m going to send you back. Once back I suggest you and your brother leave but if you stay… be careful.”

Sam had many other questions but was restrained from answering them. The woman started chanting in a language that he wasn’t familiar with. He was suddenly enveloped by swirling wind and a bright light came into vision. He heard the final words of the woman and he felt himself careening backwards.

Sam woke up and found that he was back in the motel room still sitting at the table where he had been working on his laptop. Looking down, he saw the pile of drool on the case and wiped it up with a frown. A noise from the bathroom told him that Dean was up and it was confirmed by him coming out and saying, “Rise and shine Sasquatch.”

Sam groaned slightly as he stretched. As he reached up to rub his face, his eye caught something black. He rolled up his shirt sleeve on his right arm and rotated it to see his forearm. There plain as day were the same sigils the woman drew on him in the dream. He then said, “Dean.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Wait a minute. So you were dream walking?”

“Yeah… I think. At least that was what she said.” Sam hung his head down and studied the sigils on his forearm. Even after taking a shower and scrubbing it, the markings didn’t budge. It was like someone had gone and gave him a tattoo while he was passed out drunk. It was something Dean would do.

Dean glanced over at his brother as he was rubbing the new tattoo. Granted he thought Sam’s story about his dream was a little crazy, the fact that the markings were there told him nothing should be left to chance with this job. He drove down the street to the coroner’s office to examine the latest body that had been found: a young woman named Alice Olney, a secretary for some company housed in the Sears Tower. She was found bled dry with an unusual puncture mark on her neck. It sounded like their case so they were going to check it out. Dean looked again over at Sam and said, “By the way, you looked really cute sleeping at the table. It was one for the scrapbook.”

Sam glared at Dean. “Jerk.”

“Come on Sammy. It’s not every day or every dream you meet a hot chick that gives you a tattoo that travels back with you. Maybe you might get lucky and score a date. Chicks love tattoos.” Dean smiled and he guided the Impala into a parking lot.

“Shut up Dean,” Sam muttered as he rolled down his shirt sleeve and fixed his tie. Now was not the time to worry about some dream walking experience. That would come later when he will tell Dean that she told them to get out of town.

The coroner’s office smelled like antiseptic and dead bodies but Sam and Dean were used to it… somewhat. Dean took the lead as he waltzed into the office and flashed his FBI badge. “Hi, I’m Special Agent Van Halen and this is Agent Towler. We’re looking into the mysterious deaths of…”

“Didn’t you get enough information already?” The receptionist, a crotchety old lady peered at the brothers through her spectacles with a look that dared them to misbehave.

Sam was quick to recover, “I’m sorry ma’am. What?”

“Two of your agents already came in to look at the bodies. Flashed the badges and everything. They were nice young ladies.”

Dean gave one of his more charming smiles, “Actually we were assigned to the case. Must be some gung ho rookies. I assure you we were sent by the FBI.”

“That’s what they said too,” the receptionist replied. Without missing a beat, she opened a drawer and pulled out a card and held it out to Dean. “The one in charge gave me her card. She said if anything else came to mind to have us call her.”

Dean examined the card. It had everything on it. It looked legit and included a cell number. From the looks of things, they would not be able to get in to see the bodies unless he and Sam broke in after dark. Something though made Dean suspicious about these two agents and he had an idea. Still smiling he asked the receptionist if he could keep the card stating that he lost the number this agent gave him.

Sam could tell the receptionist was no fool and would have said no. He intervened, “Please we just want to touch bases. They are actually from a different division and we’re old friends.”

The receptionist seemed to believe him for she smiled and agreed. Unfortunately for Sam, she began eying him speculatively and it made him very uncomfortable. He gave a thank you and kicked his brother to get him to follow. Once outside Dean started laughing, “You dog. She has the hots for you.”

“Shut up Dean,” Sam replied in annoyance as they walked to the car. “You got the number so call her.”

Dean was enjoying Sam’s discomfort but relented, “Alright.”

Once they were in the car, Dean fished out the card and his cell phone and punched in the number. He put the phone on speaker so he and Sam could both hear it. They listened to the ring tone and then the familiar click of it being picked up. “Hello?” The voice was feminine.

Dean replied, “This is Special Agent Van Halen, FBI. Is this Agent Angela Reyes?”

“What do you want?”

“Well we were assigned to the mysterious death cases and we find out that two other agents have already come and gone. You know I could have you arrested for impersonating a federal officer…”

“Speak for yourself.  I could have _you_ arrested. Now who are you and what do you want?”

Sam had been quiet while his brother talked to the agent. When he heard the voice, he recognized it as hers. She was here. He felt the blood leave his face but managed to compose himself and say, “We’re hunters and we want to know what is going on. We are following a hunch.” He ignored the glare from his brother.

There was a slight pause on the phone. Then she spoke in firm tones, “Get out of town now. The both of you. Get out and don’t look back.” The phone then clicked as she hung up.

“Nice going Sam,” Dean said as he tossed the phone on the dash.

“Dean that was her, the one who gave me the…” Sam waved his hand to indicate his arm.

“Yeah and she snaked our hunt.” Dean grumbled as he started the Impala. “If I see her, I’ll…”

“Do what? Kill her? Dean, I think she would kick your ass before you got it into your head to kill her,” Sam replied as Dean pulled out of the parking lot.

“Let me guess, you actually saw her do that in your dream.”

Sam ignored the statement. Dean was too pissed to talk to at the moment and would only bite his head off. When they were within sight of the motel, Sam managed to say, “Dean she warned me to leave.”

“Leave? Like that’s gonna happen.” Dean closed the door and walked out of the parking structure. He took off to the nearby eatery with Sam trailing behind.

Later when they were seated, Sam said, “You’re just pissed because a girl told you to leave and took the case.”

“Shut up Sam.”

****

Angela hated the morning. Normally she was up and ready to go but the pounding headache made her want to sleep. Still she couldn’t ignore the smell of coffee and reluctantly got up to find Akira sitting at her laptop doing what she did best: research. She scowled when Akira turned and asked, “Rough night?”

“Shut up.” Angela grumbled as she got out of bed and poured herself some coffee. It dulled the headache some but she knew that it would take a while for it to go away. It usually did when she forced herself out of a dream walk.

She wasn’t sure how it happened. Normally if she dream walked, she made a conscious effort to do it. Last night, she passed through the realms with relative ease and it disturbed her. She found herself in an alleyway. She wandered through it until it started to rain. She was thoroughly annoyed especially when she tried to get out of the rain. The doors kept sending her back out into the rain and she realized that someone else was manipulating the realm.

The vampire was one of Suarez’s minions and she charged to take it out once she saw it tackle the human. It wasn’t until the human spoke that she knew who it was. It was instinct for her to react in the only way she knew best: her bitchy self. That didn’t deter him however and she wasn’t even sure why he was pulled in. She thought that both would have been pulled into dream walking. Those were the thoughts racing through her mind as she was looking for more enemies and a way out.

It dawned on her that it wasn’t the Dream King but someone else and they wanted to make a point. She knew then that she had to get Sam out and keep him out. Since she had dream walked before, she was able to manipulate her will to form a marker in her pocket. She didn’t know what she was doing but it felt right. Normally when she forced dreamers out it was killing that which tormented them. What she did to Sam’s forearm was different. She drew the sigils as they came into her mind and she said the incantation and it worked.

Angela sat at the table and sipped the hot coffee, letting the scalding heat warm her throat. Akira watched her companion and said, “I take it you had an adventure in your sleep?”

“You could say that.” Angela reveled in the pain and she felt the damaged skin begin to heal itself. She put the cup down on the table. “I saw one of them. He was pulled in.”

“Which one?”

Angela looked at Akira as if she were nuts. Angela had never done nor cared to understand the concept of girl talk and the manner in which Akira asked the question disturbed her. “What’s the purpose?”

“Just curious.”

Angela sighed in annoyance, “It was Sam and before you ask, no I don’t know why he was pulled in but I think Suarez may have something to do with it. He’s always dabbled in the ancient ways. I get the feeling that’s why he set up shop here.” Angela downed the rest of the coffee and went to her room to get ready.

Akira called out, “You think it has anything to do with what Azazel did to Sam as a baby?”

A thump sounded before the response, “I… considered it but why would he pulled in with me? Why not both of them?”

“Divide and conquer?”

No response followed except the sound of the shower. Akira smiled a bit before resuming her research. She was exploring ancient rituals that could fit the profile of the use of blood and souls. There were a few but any mention of it was in an archaic language. It was taking time to utilize the translation program she had worked on since she became a professor at the Roslyn Academy. She was smiling because Angela met one of the Winchester boys and didn’t freak out over it. Granted it happened in the dream realm, still it went well. She smiled and went to get ready for some investigating.

Fifteen minutes later, Angela came out dressed in their cover for the job. She sighed and picked through her things for what would make her cover for the day. Akira joined her and she handed her the ID she would be using along with the gun loaded with the specialty bullets. Akira spoke, “So Special Agent Reyes, we head to the coroners?”

Angela finished strapping on her gun and fixed her suit. “Yeap… and I’m driving.”

“Don’t worry I’m through arguing with you.”

The ride to the coroner’s was uneventful and so was the questioning of the manner of death. Angela managed to charm her way past the receptionist with the manners she had been taught by her mother. The coroner was willing to answer anything as long as he continued staring at her chest. She wanted nothing more than to punch the guy but they needed to be sure. Finally, after enduring the lecherous comments, they got what they came for and left. Angela did leave one of her cover cards just in case any more deaths occurred.

Once outside Angela scowled, “Ugh. Why must I get the job that has a disgusting male that drools looking at me?”

Akira raised her brow and looked at her partner speculatively, “Well you do have a great body.”

“Shut up Princess.”

“Ice Bitch.”

Angela looked over at Akira and gave a rare smile. Then she felt it. The rumble in her stomach made her groan. “Damn my genetics!”

“They’re mine too,” Akira pointed out. “Let me guess something chuck full of carbs.” Seeing the look on Angela’s face she laughed. “Come on partner there’s that eatery down the street.”

One bite of the BLT had Angela in a better mood now that she felt actual food in her stomach. She closed her eyes relishing in the flavors when her cell phone went off. It was the one that corresponded to the card. She quickly swallowed and went outside to take it. Upon answering, she was greeted by a voice asking if she was Agent Reyes. She tried to be polite until he threatened imprisonment. She responded in turn. Then she heard his voice and nearly dropped the phone.

They were still in town? She made it clear that they should leave. Well she had to reinforce the lesson now. She told them to get out and not look back and hung up. She looked at the phone contemplating on crushing it. _Stupid, stubborn Winchesters! Dammit John. Why did you saddle me with this? Because you did it for Mary._ Angela sighed and put the phone back on her belt and walked back in. She sat on her seat with little finesse and continued eating.

Akira watched the whole conversation. She shrewdly guessed that it was the Winchesters and it was confirmed when she saw Angela look at her cell phone ready to crush it in her bare hands. When she came back in and started in on her sandwich, she asked, “Wrong number?”

Angela glared as she swallowed. She then said, “Stupid fools. They’re going to stay. I just know it. Akira we need to know what ritual it is soon. Tonight I’ll scout around and you keep at it. I’ll call if I find something.”

Akira recognized the need to hunt something and agreed. She didn’t really need to be facing the computer but she would indulge. Angela needed time to think. “No problem. Maybe we can scout around during the day too.”

“Right.”

****

“Dean I think I may have narrowed down the radius.”

Dean mumbled as he came over to look at the computer screen. He peered at it and shrugged his shoulders. “Okay so give.”

Sam moved the laptop so Dean could get a good look. He pointed at the diagram of the map. “All the victims came from the business sector like Sears Tower but the bodies were found here in the China Town district.” He pointed to the radii that he color coded. “I’m thinking that maybe the nest is located in China Town.”

“Thing is why go all that way to bag a meal? Why not close to home?”

Sam shrugged as he looked at the map. “No idea. Maybe they preferred high class meals. Thing is they are clustered around one place. It’s an antique store.”

“What would vampires want with old junk?”

“Maybe it’s a cover or something.”

Dean studied the screen for a moment, “Well it’s better than nothing. Let’s go check it out.” Dean grabbed his leather jacket and slung it over his shoulders. He grabbed his gun and checked to make sure it was loaded. Placing some extra clips in his pockets, he glanced over at his brother who was still staring at the computer screen. “Sam. Come on, let’s go.”

Sam had been studying the map while Dean was chomping at the bit to get going. It was strange that the victims came from one part of town only to end up miles away and in a lowdown part of town. It just didn’t make sense.  He continued to stare at it and ignored his brother until something hit him in the head. Startled by it Sam looked around and found that it was a crumpled up fast food bag. Sam looked up at his brother and scowled, “Jerk.”

“Hey I’m not the one that suddenly lost his hearing,” Dean replied, “Come on Sam. We’ve got something that needs to be hunted.” Dean tossed Sam’s jacket at him making sure to hit him square in the face.

Sam struggled to get the jacket out of his face scowling. He stood up to his full height as he put his jacket on. “Just thinking about the patterns Dean. It seems rather unusual.”

“All the more reason for us to gank the bloodsuckers. Come on.” Dean looked at Sam with a frown.

Sam gave a shrug of his shoulders and picked up his gun. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this was something more than a simple nest hunt. Still Dean was right and the sooner they ganked the nest, the better. “Fine, let’s go.” He closed the laptop and followed Dean out to the Impala. Stepping outside, Sam felt the air become thick with humidity.

Dean didn’t notice the humidity starting to accumulate. Instead he was feeling satisfaction that he was bagging the bloodsuckers before that chick hunter did. He started the engine and took satisfaction hearing the roar of the Impala’s engine. He took off towards Chen’s Antiques playing Metallica. “Nothing like a hunt right Sammy?”

Sam found it difficult to ignore Dean’s good mood and smiled along. Normally he would tell Dean to not call him Sammy but this was one of the times that he would let it slide. He gave a chuckle and said, “The family business.”

Nearly forty minutes later the Impala was parked to a stop outside the antique store in question. The humidity had gotten thicker and there hints of lightning in the sky. Not that Dean or Sam noticed. Their attention was focused on the building. It looked like a typical building shut down for the evening. Nothing was out of the ordinary as the two brothers sat waiting for any sign. It was nearly two hours before Dean burst with impatience, “I hate waiting.”

Sam gave a sigh, “Well there’s nothing going on Dean. At least from here. Maybe we should, take a look around.”

Dean looked at Sam with an impressed look, “Finally your head’s on the job.” Dean got out of the car and went to the trunk while Sam followed with a tolerant smile.

The Impala was the hoarder of hunter gear. Everything that Sam and Dean needed to hunt was in that trunk, including the cigar box of IDs they used on the job. Dean had the trunk open now and went fishing through their weapons and pulled out two machetes. He handed one to Sam and took the other one, slamming down the trunk.

Silently the brothers walked towards the store and took a look in. It was too dark to see anything inside. Dean signaled Sam to follow him around to the alley dock way behind the store. They made their way around the corner to the entrance of the alleyway. They managed to make it to the back door of the store. Sam bent to pick the lock taking the risk that the door was not rigged to an alarm. With the humidity rising, Sam wiped his brow as he tried to pick the lock.

“Hurry up, Sam.”

“I’m trying,” Sam muttered, trying again.

Meanwhile Dean paced around impatiently waiting for Sam to do his thing. He wiped the sweat that started to form from the humidity. He looked up at the sky when he saw the flash of lightning. When he looked back down and towards the stretch of alley, there was a man with his face hidden in shadow. Before Dean could say anything he was grabbed by the man and pushed into the wall. He managed to grunt out, “Sam!”

Sam turned to see Dean being manhandled by a man. Grabbing his machete he started towards the assailant to help his brother but was jerked backwards. The next thing Sam knew he was flying through the air. He hit something hard and felt something pierce his side. He fell to the ground completely winded. He grunted as he looked to see his brother struggle, “Dean!”

Dean felt himself being raised off the ground and he stared at his assailant. He tried to raise his machete but was flung into the side of a nearby dumpster. The machete fell out of his hand with a clang. It wasn’t over for Dean felt hands grab him and pick him up and fling him against the wall. His attacker was quick on his feet and said, “I told you I smelled hunters.”

The other was standing over Sam and gave him a kick to the ribs breaking a few in the process. “You sure did. And these aren’t even from those pathetic meatbags that like to call themselves hunters.”

“You don’t say?”

Suddenly Dean got a punch under the ribs that hurt like hell. One of his arms was grabbed and wrenched until he heard the crack of bone. Dean tried to fight back. His reward was being punched hard in his chest and stomach until he pitched forward. He was caught and picked up and thrown a ways until he landed in a dirty puddle of water. Dean grunted looking up and saw his attacker come up towards him and grab his hair. He spat, “Son of a bitch.”

The assailant started laughing, “Son of a bitch? This one has a sense of humor.” He turned towards his partner who was tormenting Sam by poking at the thing that pierced his side and giving him a beating. He then turned back towards Dean and said, “You’ve picked the wrong time to come to town Winchester.”

“It’s what I do. Hunt you sons of bitches,” Dean grunted, “Now you hurt my brother and I’ll…”

“You’ll do nothing,” and the assailant backhanded Dean making him see stars. Dean groaned while his attacker reached to grab him. Dean was looking up at him and watched as a fist was starting to head him way.

                The impact never came. Dean dropped to the ground having been released suddenly. He landed on the paved ground hard. He landed in a way that he was able to see what was going on. He saw a flying blur and a girl kicking a guy’s ass. It went by too fast for him to see anything and he blacked out calling for Sam. He came too again and saw a woman’s face over his. She said that he was alive but he didn’t’ hear the response. He blacked out again, the last thing he heard was the sound of the Impala’s engine.  _They better not hurt my baby._


	4. Chapter 4

Sam tried not to cry out in pain while his attacker was fiddling with whatever was stuck in his side. He gritted his teeth and braced himself when the blows came. It was excruciating pain. He had been punched by a vampire before and this was ten times worse. It was like these blood suckers were turbo charged. He looked over towards his brother but could barely see him. He struggled to get up but was pushed hard into the ground by a foot followed by the full body weight of his attacker. He felt the breath of his attacker close to his ear and heard him whisper, “You and your brother are prime meat. I see you are marked. A treat for the boss.”

Whatever was going to happen never came. The weight was suddenly gone and the appearance of a pair of female legs came into Sam’s line of vision. Sam squinted to see who his rescuer was. He felt his vision start to blacken but he forced himself to stay awake.

She faced off with the vampire, her stance indicating that she was there to kill. Sam watched as she dodged and punched with the same ferocity as the vampire. He winced when he saw her get a backhand across the face but she didn’t go down. Instead she gave a growl and Sam thought he saw something in her eyes. She jumped forward and sprung away to reveal the vampire brandishing a knife.

She grinned and laughed while her hand went to her belt. She quickly pulled out her own blade and twirled it. They clash happened so quick that it was over when Sam caught a glimpse of the flash of silver and the vampire was stuck with a look of surprise as the blade went through his head and he slumped over dead. She stood looking over the body as if to make sure that it didn’t move before reaching into her pocket and pulled out something. She uncapped it and poured what was in it over the body.

Sam blinked a couple of times as he watched her talk to her partner. She said, “Check him. I’ll check the other.”

The next thing Sam knew, he was being rolled over and her face was over his. She asked him, “Can you understand me?”

Sam gave a nod. Briefly he heard another voice shout, “He’s alive.”

“Dean?”

The woman over him looked back at him and said, “He’s fine Sam. I need you to tell me where it hurts and how bad.”

It took Sam a minute before he realized she had said his name. He never even told her his name. He tried to talk but she shushed him as she examined him. He grunted when she gave slight pressure on his torso and even louder when she touched whatever punctured him. He thought he could detect her hissing under her breath. Suddenly she looked up as if she heard something. She then said, “Get Dean. We gotta get out of here.”

Suddenly Sam felt himself lifted up which surprised him since he knew that he was not a lightweight. He grunted in pain and he heard her whisper, “I’m sorry.”

It became too much to bear and he blacked out. He managed to gain some consciousness and look around. He saw his brother passed out next to him, leaning against the window. Listening he recognized the engine of the Impala roaring. Looking at the driver, he saw her driving. He started to feel darkness creep on him. The last thing he thought was how pissed Dean was going to be if he found out some stranger touched the car.

****

The pain was sharp and Dean awoke with a start. He jerked upright and looked for a weapon only to find he couldn’t move one of his arms and it hurt to breath. He did notice that he was in a bed and it became clear as he remembered. “Sam?”

“Stop moving. Your brother is fine.”

Dean turned to look at the owner of the voice. He spotted her in the corner lounging back with her legs crossed. She was reading a book obviously but it was near pitch dark. That was a new one. He stared at her and demanded in a hoarse voice, “Who are you? Where is Sam?”

The woman got up and placed her book on the table. She picked up something and walked towards him. Dean realized it was a glass of water and took it greedily. She then said, “Sam’s fine. He’s in the bed next to you. Now stop moving or you’ll disrupt the healing wards.”

Dean looked over and saw Sam asleep. He looked a little pale. Dean’s eyes drifted down to the white wrapped around Sam’s waist and the dark streak that was there. Dean went into a panic, “Sam?” He tried to get up and winced when he tried.

“Don’t move. Stay within the wards,” the woman spoke forcefully.

“That’s my brother.”

“And he’s fine because of the healing wards. Stay within yours.”

“Not until you tell me who you are.” Dean started getting up wincing from his ribs. His arm felt numb. He was almost upright when she was suddenly in front of him. “What the…”

“Sleep.”

Dean felt the touch of her fingers on his forehead. He suddenly slumped over thinking that this woman was a bitch. He didn’t feel himself being carried over back to the bed. His mind drifted into a deep sleep.

Dean felt the warmth of the sun on his face and slowly opened his eyes. Frowning he sat up slowly. He was surprised when instead of intense pain there was a dull throbbing. He gingerly touched his arm and tried to move it. It was still broken but it was still healing. He glanced over at Sam who was still asleep and breathing normally. His coloring was good too. Then Dean felt it: the rumble of his stomach and he smelt something cooking and it smelled like bacon.

Following the call of his stomach, Dean got up and gingerly pulled on the shirt that had been pulled off of him. He did a quick search and found that his gun was missing. He cursed under his breath and slowly walked out the door. He followed the smell of food stopping only to grab something that would act as a weapon. He made his way down the stairs slowly and went towards the kitchen.

It was too quiet but he could hear the clatter of plates being set at a table. He pushed open the door slowly to find a dark haired chick setting the table. He raised the statuette that he found to use as a weapon, ready to strike when the woman said, “Hitting a woman with a rare statue of the goddess of the immortals is not a good idea.” She then turned around and smiled, “Morning Dean.”

Dean lowered his weapon slightly but didn’t back down. He looked at the woman and said, “You know my name?”

The woman smirked at him as she crossed her arms in amusement. Dean took a moment to take in her dark hair and dark brown eyes. She was rather quite pretty. She said, “It’s pretty hard not to know given my hearing.”

Dean frowned in confusion. When he looked up, he noticed that her eyes gave a strange sort of flicker. He raised the statuette again ready to strike. “Alright what are you?”

She was quick and had the statuette out of his hand before he got the idea to even swing. Dean watched in confusion as she breathed a sigh of relief and carefully set the statuette on a nearby countertop.  She then said, “Whew. Can’t have the goddess being used as a bat now.” She then motioned to a chair, “Sit Dean. I can tell you must be starving.”

“Did you just… yank that out of my hand?”

The woman merely smiled, “Genetics. Now sit. You look like you’re going to fall over.”

Dean moved but warily, his eyes never leaving her. It was comical since she followed his movement, her smile never wavering. He sat down stiffly in the seat offered and looked at her expectantly. He watched as the woman went to the counter and grabbed a pitcher and poured orange juice into a glass and set it in front of him. “Uh… thanks?”

“You’re welcome. How’s your arm?”

Before Dean could answer, a door opened and another chick came out. She had light brown hair and tawny eyes and olive toned skin. If anything she was more attractive than her weird friend dishing up what was cooking. She paused in the doorway and looked at him before walking over and took his chin with her hand and gave a look over on his face. He protested when she took his arm that had been broken and gently turned it over. “Looks like the wards did their job. You’ll be back to normal by nightfall.”

She then released his arm and looked over at the countertop at the statuette. She looked at Dean with a raised brow. She shook her head and took the statuette and left to replace it where Dean had taken it.

“Don’t mind Angela. She’s all business.”

“I heard that, Princess.”

“Ice Bitch.”

Dean didn’t know if he was going insane listening to the two women bicker much like he and Sam did or to the fact that the one called Angela actually heard what the other one said from upstairs. Trying to sort his thoughts, he did the only thing that seemed less crazy to do. He took the glass of orange juice and took a gulp. Feeling some semblance of calm, he said, “So uh… you have a name?”

“Akira.”

“Okay. Family name?”

“Something like that. My father thought to be clever with my name when I was born. He wasn’t too far off the mark.”

“So uh what does it mean?”

Akira turned to look at Dean with tolerant expression. “You don’t have to play nice. Once your brother is up we’ll explain. Just accept that for now you two are safe here.” She gave a slight smile and went back to whatever she was doing.

“I’ll buy that for now.” Dean said nothing else but drank his juice thinking best how to get out of this.

****

Sam groaned and opened his eyes. Seeing ceiling above him that wasn’t that of the motel had him bolt upright. He winced and pressed a hand to his abdomen.

“That was rather foolish.”

Sam looked towards the door of the room and saw the woman from his dreams leaning against the doorjamb. The pain forgotten, the memories of the fight came back. He said, “It was you, wasn’t it?”

The woman stood up straight and walked in the room. She got close enough for Sam to see a slight bruise on her face. He remembered that she had gotten a harder hit than that. There should have been a bigger welt on her face. He watched as she gripped his chin and moved his head as if to examine him. “How’s the ribs?” She asked the question, completely ignoring his question.

Sam frowned as he moved slightly. He found that his ribs were not as painful as they were before. It was a dull throb. His abdomen though stung still. “Fine. Hardly feel anything except…”

“Well stab wounds for some reason take longer than broken bones with healing wards,” the woman replied while she checked the bandage. Reaching over to the nightstand, she pulled fresh gauze to re-dress the wound. “You were lucky though.”

Sam watched her re-dress his injury. She was fast and deliberate and the touch was gentle. “Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me. You should have listened to me the first time.” The woman finished and taking the used bandages, she wadded them up and threw them in the trash can. “You and your brother are stubborn gits.”

Sam detected a faint accent while the woman spoke. She sounded stern but her voice had a gentle timbre to it. He listened as she chuckled at her own assessment of him and Dean. He asked, “Is that so bad?”

The woman had walked to a wardrobe and pulled out a shirt and tossed it at him, hitting him square on the chest with it. “In most cases no. That should fit.”

Sam pulled on the shirt slowly so as not to disturb his bandages. He then swung his legs over to stand up. He found his shoes and put them on. “So you mind telling me your name? You know mine.”

“Angela.”

When Sam finished, he walked looked over to find that Angela was waiting, leaning on the doorjamb once more with her arms crossed. Sam shook his shoulders, “What now?”

“Follow me. Your brother is already downstairs. Let’s hope there’s food left.” Angela then turned and led the way down the hall and down the stairs.

The smell of food made Sam realize how hungry he was. Still he had more manners than Dean and went where he was shown. He found his brother looking warily at a woman at the stove and drinking… orange juice? Sam slid into the seat next to his brother. He was startled when the woman who was by the stove set a glass of juice in front of him and them went to set glasses at the other two places before sitting at one of the remaining empty chairs. Sam leaned over and whispered, “Dean, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why are you acting like a scared girl?”

“Shut up Sam.”

“Your brother is right to be wary, Sam,” Angela spoke up. “For all you know, we could be some of the things you hunt.”

Dean managed to get back to his usual self, “Well are you?”

Angela turned around balancing four plates on her arms. Ignoring Dean’s question, she placed plates full of food down for everyone. Sam took a look and saw that it was something that would make Dean happy as well as him. He did manage to notice that she had rather piled it on hers and the other girl’s plate. When Angela sat at the table, she and the other started eating leaving Sam and Dean to stare at them.

It must have been about a full two minutes before Angela looked up and said, “It’s considered rude for a guest to not eat what is set before him.”

Sam looked at Dean. Dean was starving, and giving a shrug of his shoulders, he picked up the fork and started digging in, stuffing the food into his mouth. They could trust them just through the meal… for now. Sam rolled his eyes and picked up his fork and took more polite bites. Looking up, he saw Angela watching them with a bemused expression on her face. The other was just eating making a point to ignore everything. It was Dean who spoke, with his mouth full, “This is good.”

“Glad you like it Dean. Anything to say Sam?”

“It’s good Angela,” Sam replied.

“Glad you like it,” Angela replied and resumed eating.

When everyone was finished, meaning Dean packed away a huge second helping, and everything was put away, Dean asked, “Alright so is one of you going to tell us what the hell is going on? And where’s my car?”

“Relax Dean. The Impala’s parked in the driveway behind my car,” Angela said as she ushered them into the front sitting room. She leaned against the wall behind the chair Akira took. She then said, “What do you want to know besides the fact that you both had your asses kicked by vampires?”

“How about telling us who the hell you are,” Dean demanded, “Or better yet what you are.”

Angela gave a rather coy smile, “And what is it do you think we are?” For some reason she felt like being an irritating bitch.

“Obviously some kind of demon or something.”

“And how did you come to that conclusion, Genius?”

Sam watched as his brother got increasingly angry with Angela. Dean retorted, “Your friend Akira here went all freaky on the eyes.” He pointed at the girl sitting in the chair.

“And you have proof of that?”

Before Dean could do anything foolish, Sam intervened, “Look, we just want to know who you are and why you helped us in that alley? Please?”

Angela stared at the brothers. She disliked being interrogated like that. She had always known that she and Dean would rub the wrong way if they ever met. It was in both their natures to be that way. It was also the only way she could think of to keep herself at arms distance from them. Yet she found that she couldn’t completely do that. Sam made that near impossible. Still she maintained the posture and replied, “Since you’re asking nicely. I’m Angela and my partner is Akira and we were there because we are on assignment from the order we work for.”

“So you are hunters then?” Sam asked.

“You could say that,” Angela replied. She glanced at the back of Akira’s head for a moment before returning her gaze towards the brothers.

Akira then said, “We are… rather unusual.”

“You could say that,” Dean muttered.

“As well as the vampires that jumped you,” Akira added, her gaze capturing Dean’s. “They are unusual because they were once one of those that were born.” Seeing the look of puzzlement on the boys’ faces, she went into an explanation, “This is going to sound like beyond crazy but the vampires you two have killed before are one of three kinds. There are those that are born, those that are made, and those that 'dance in the shadows'.”

****

Sam took a moment to study the library on the second floor. The shelves were full of books organized by content. He scanned the shelves and found one book that held his interest and pulled it off the shelf. The sound of keys tapping caused him to turn his head. He spotted Akira sitting at the table tapping away on a portable laptop. She had a couple of books spread open around her and occasionally she would glance at one as if to cross reference and look back on her screen.  He silently debated on whether or not to go over and see what she was doing, still a bit nervous from what she had told them earlier about herself and Angela. Yet he knew they were telling the truth.

Slowly he walked over to where Akira was working and asked, “So uh what are you working on?”

Akira didn’t divert her gaze from the screen but she replied, “Trying to work out the translation for a ritual. The vampires have not just been taking blood, but souls.”

Sam took a seat by her to take a look. When he saw the screen, he asked, “Is that the GX translator program running?”

“Yes. Specifically designed to take a single document in a language not yet translated and cross reference with multiple languages to translate into a readable language. It was specifically designed for any documents and texts written in languages no longer in use. Actually spoken version of these languages is being developed.”

“How do you know that?”

“I worked on the translator. Ancient Mysteries is my specialty.”

Sam could feel his jaw drop. “You’re Akira Kuran, top researcher of the supernatural.”

“Ancient Mysteries,” Akira automatically corrected. “You humans are simple minded.” She grinned as she said it since she knew Sam was the academic. “Humans and demons used to practice these rites long before written history. The world is pretty old Sam.”

Sam was watching the translation until he flipped open the book that he had picked, He thumbed through the pages until he stopped. He then rotated his arm to look at the tattoos and back at the book. He then said, “Um… Akira.”

Akira looked away from her work and saw Sam looking at a book and his arm. She frowned slightly and peered at the page he was gazing at. When she found it she said in almost a nonchalant voice, “Oh so that is what she used to force you out. Interesting.” Then seeing the look on Sam’s face, she explained, “The sigils are protection sigils as well as repelling ones. Used in combination of each other, they can force a dreamer out of the dream realm and prevent them from coming back.”

“But they followed me back.”

“Until the job is done,” Akira replied nodding. She knew Sam was not prone to panicking but she got the idea that this was bothering him. She continued, “This is interesting because Angela doesn’t read these. She can but she doesn’t and this is of the Old Religion. Very, _very_ old stuff back to the days between the war between the Ancients and the Champions. Very old stuff.”

Sam looked at the tattoos on his forearm and back at Akira who was taking an interest in them. She was purely the academic but she must be a fighter given that she and Angela saved him and Dean against those vampires she explained about. She was also the one who preferred to take the back seat on discussions until she was called to and she did it with a knowing expression. “So this will go away when the job is done?”

“These kinds of things are as permanent as the caster makes them. So when Angie considers the job done, they’ll go away. It’s not the end of the world so don’t worry. Though I would keep it covered. Those that recognize the sigils know that you are under the protection of someone and since it is not hard to scan for the caster’s aura...”

Sam frowned as he listened to Akira talk. He got the feeling that she knew quite a bit but she was conflicted on what to tell him. He was also interested in the woman who gave him the tattoos in the first place. He asked, “So… how did you and Angela meet?”

Akira raised her brow at Sam. She was curious as to why he was interested in her. Angie mentioned only meeting him in the dream realm and forcing him out but nothing else. _Whatever secrets you keep, I will protect but you have to eventually tell them._ Akira was good at saying much but not revealing much. She gave a slight smile, “I left college teaching and became a professor at Roslyn Academy. That’s where I met her. She’s a guest lecturer.”


	5. Chapter 5

Dean spent the morning going over the Impala with a fine tooth comb trying to see if any harm came to his baby. He popped the trunk to find that all of the weapons were still there. “Did you think that we would hide everything you need for a job?”

Dean looked up from the trunk to see Angela walking towards the back carrying something huge slung across her back. He watched as she paused at one of the stone pillars of the fence and peer at it. She removed something from her pocket and drew something on it muttering to herself. She then stood up and walked to another pillar and did the same thing. Putting a .45 into his jacket, he closed the trunk and followed her.

When he came out of the house that morning, he was surprised that they were in one of those middle class brownstones. It explained the layout of the place. He was even more satisfied that the Impala didn’t suffer any maltreatment. If anything, it was cleaned to make it look brand new. Dean grudgingly had to admit one of those two chicks knew a thing or two about cars.

He managed to catch up with Angela marking up the backdoor of the house. What surprised Dean was that there was nothing on the door. He shuffled his feet slightly and said, “So…”

“The Impala is to your liking I take it?”

“Yeah. Looks brand new.” Dean shoved his hands into his jeans pocket. He took a sigh and asked, “So what are you drawing all over the place?”

“Sigils to hide this place from just about anything that exists in the world. All members of the order stay here and it is their job to make sure the sigils are current.” Angela finished drawing on the door. “There. Those were fading. Now they’re up to date. They’ll last until the next job.”

“Can only see them under dark light?”

“Well it’s stupid to use spray paint.” Angela showed him her pen. “Besides this is special. Funny how we have chemical geniuses within the order. They think of just about anything.” She then flipped it in her hand and put it back into her pocket. “So anything you need Dean?”

“Nothing really.” Dean started to wander back towards the Impala.

“You have free run of the house. I suggest though that you stay within the confines of the yard. Your injuries need more time.” Angela looked at Dean’s retreating form. She removed the staff she had from her shoulder.

Dean stopped and turned around. He then walked back. “You plan on keeping us prisoner here?”

Angela leaned on the staff. “No. Trying to keep you and your brother alive. You stumbled onto something bigger than any hunt you’ve ever done. Suarez is the leader of those vampires that attacked you. He is into the occult and I can guarantee you he has something up his sleeve. Now that he knows the Winchesters are on the trail…” Angela then shrugged her shoulders. She then picked up the staff and walked towards a corner of the back fence. She knelt down to feel in the grass for something.

“And how do you know this?”

Angela didn’t say anything right away. Having found what she had been looking for, she took the staff, twirled it above her head and then jammed it hard into the dirt. It was a wonder the wood didn’t splinter. When she was finished, she replied, “I fought him once maybe twice before. He came close to killing me both times.”

Then with quick movements, she walked into the house, slamming the door. Dean sighed as he rolled his eyes. Knowing that there was nothing else to do outdoors, he followed Angela inside.

****

The lights were dimmed in order to accommodate the sensitivity of their eyes yet it didn’t bother Suarez at all. He had lived long enough to acclimate to brighter lights but his skin was still sensitive to sunlight. He stared at the dozens of faces looking at him and gave a feral smile. He said, “Brothers and sisters, we are now very close to achieving what no other of our kind has been able to achieve. We now need one more body, one more soul to complete the ritual for us to walk with those of the third kind.”

A cheer sounded forth.

Suarez held up his hands to gain quiet. He said, “Now I know some of you have concerns. The rumors are true and an old friend has come to try to stop us. Some of you know her has the Blood Knight, others the Queen of Vengeance but mostly known as the Malachi.”

The room was filled with shouts. Some were of protests. Others were calling for blood. Suarez took it in before waving his hands. He spoke louder, “Do not fear my brothers. She will not succeed.”

One of the minions came forwards and asked permission to speak. Giving the go ahead, Suarez listened to the whispers of the minion. He grinned even more as he listened to what was being told of him. He waved his hand in dismissal and addressed the crowd at large, “My brothers, it appears that we have a treat. Not only is she here in the beloved Windy City but so are the Winchester brothers.”

“The Winchesters?”

“Yes and I know that any other demons and brethren know they are around. Therefore I am creating a bounty for them. For bringing them in alive and relatively unharmed, they can have the pleasure of  dismembering the Ice Bitch.”

There was a murmur of agreement as Suarez dismissed them and headed down the hall past the rows of antiques. He was joined by his right hand man who said, “Sir. Is it wise to start a manhunt on the Winchesters?”

“You worry too much Cisco. It will distract her. She will do anything to protect them.”

“You don’t know that. I’ve seen her sacrifice innocents to save the majority.”

“What you saw was justice being dispensed. They may have looked innocent but more likely they were as guilty as sin. She will protect the Winchesters. It’s in her nature.”

Cisco looked around before saying, “If that is the case then how will they find them? The two guards were killed and whoever they attacked was gone.”

Suarez looked thoughtful as he entered an office. He peered through the one way window at the customers in the antique shop. The owner agreed to help him in exchange for not harming his family. Suarez made the promise loosely, not revealing his intentions. “If I know her, she would have taken them to one of the safe houses the Centurion has scattered. She would take every precaution.”

“Well when you had Rosalinda pull her into dream walking to try to kill her, she pulled in one of them but forced him out. He hasn’t come back since.”

“Of course. Dreamers can die if they dream walk and get killed there. She knows this and hid him.”

“So what do you want to do?”

“They have to come out some time. Issue the order to have one of our trackers track them to the safe house they are using. If that doesn’t work then we will have to use magic.”

“Yes sir.”

After his second left, Suarez sat in his chair, looking out at the customers buying and browsing. _Come out, come out, wherever you are._

****

Dean was looking around the house trying to find anything to do. He wandered the hall and came across a study and moseyed on in. The shelves were full of stuff, some that Dean recognized using on the job. There were some items that he didn’t know about. One object in particular caught his eye sitting on the desk. It looked like a miniature man dressed like and eagle. He was about to pick it up when a voice came forth, “You might not want to do that.”

Dean jumped and turned to find Akira holding a book looking as if she were passing by. “I was just… uh.”

Akira walked in with an amused smile. “You did nothing wrong. I was just warning you.” She walked over towards the desk and took out the pencil she had tucked behind her ear. She held it out and suddenly the little man dressed up moved and snapped the pencil in two with the beak. She looked at Dean, “Kachina. They are believed to be the spirits of the world.”

“I thought that was something you buy at a gift shop.” Dean was surprised that the thing moved. The realization that he might have lost a finger occurred to him and he began to wonder how many other things were that dangerous within that house.

“They are replicas unless they are blessed by a shaman. The figure then can become possessed by the kachina they represent. They can be summoned by the right words to use in battle.”

“Then why did that thing move?”

Akira gave a slight laugh. “That ‘thing’ moved because it was bound but given the freedom of choice to a limited degree. This kachina uses it to defend itself unless you give the correct phrase to indicate a friend.” Akira then leaned over and said, “N’de.” She then held out her hand and said, “It’s all right.”

The kachina then came to life and jumped into her hand. It then looked over at Dean and said something in an Indian language before leaping off her hand and jumping on top of Dean’s shoulder. Dean’s reaction was to try to bat it away. “What is this thing doing?”

Akira started laughing. She was at it for a while until she got control of herself. She then said, ‘I might be mistaken but I think this particular kachina has a female version of the spirit. In short, you’ve just got yourself a girl friend.” She then started laughing again while she picked up the broken pencil and her book.

“What am I supposed to do with it?”

“No idea.” Akira then checked her watch. “Well you can bring it downstairs and help with lunch. We can’t do much until I figure out which rite that Suarez is after.” Akira brushed right past Dean and headed towards the staircase.

Dean scowled and then looked at his shoulder where the kachina was sitting. It was looking at him and he stared back at it. It then gave a peck on his cheek and retreated down his back to the other shoulder before Dean could bat it away. “Fine you can stay there. Just… don’t do that again.” He then followed Akira downstairs. “Why couldn’t you have picked Sam?”

Meanwhile, Sam had gotten bored with watching the translator at work. Akira had been right in saying that it can do quite a bit on its own so he decided to look for Angela. His conversation with Akira gave him skin and bones about her. He left the laptop alone and walked out of the library. He heard the sound of pots clattering in the kitchen and bypassed it. He came across two doors that were partially open. One was empty with a made up bed. The second one had noise coming from it. He knocked on the door, “Um… hello?”

Angela had been examining where she had been backhanded the night before. She hadn’t done it earlier since the wards needed attention and she wasn’t that concerned over it but Akira bugged her over it earlier. She was peering at the mirror and giving a cursory look. It was now faint and would be gone by nightfall. Bruises didn’t matter to her. It was the cuts that she had a problem with. Starting to think about blood, Angela began to hear things. It was interrupted when she heard the knock on the door and Sam’s call of hello. She sighed and walked out of the bathroom. “Something you wanted?”

Sam was momentarily taken aback by the abruptness of her question. He had expected it though and recovered. He shrugged his shoulders, “Nothing urgent. I just want to talk.”

“Bored with Akira’s translator already?” Angela then walked out of the room and towards a small closet. Opening the door, she pulled out a slender bag and slung it over her shoulder. She didn’t really want to be caught in a conversation with either Winchester but she couldn’t avoid them forever either. As added insurance she added a ward that would prevent them from leaving until nightfall so that kept them in the house pretty much all day. She could minimize it though by doing other things and let Akira do the explaining. She headed towards the basement.

Sam followed knowing that she didn’t really want to talk. He gave a slight chuckle. She was very much like Dean, preferring to keep things inside. He kept up fairly easily and replied, “There is only so much you can do while it does all the work.”

“Watch out for the Terminator moment.” Angela paused at the door leading to the basement and pulled it open.  She turned on the light and walked down the stairs and when she was sure Sam was behind her, she gave a slight flick of her finger and the door closed. She didn’t have to look. If she freaked them out, it was probably for the best. She did say, “Chaser ability.”

Sam didn’t say anything; he didn’t even flinch. He had seen it with Max and he was reminded about what he considered a failure. For some reason it was comforting to find someone who had freakish abilities even though she wasn’t completely human. He followed Angela down the narrow staircase until it opened up into a large room. It was an underground training area. “Nice place.”

Angela put the slender bag on a table and proceeded to pull out some of the weapons that were only used against powerful foes. They included a bow, a spear and a short sword. She checked them over and laid them out. “This is considered the best of the safe houses with the largest training room and a majority of every weapon possible.”

Sam looked around. It reminded him of a martial arts dojo as he looked and saw the rack with weapons on it. He walked over and picked up one. “You guys like to fight hand to hand?”

Angela finished her examination and picked up the short sword. It was nothing like Absolution but like her blade, it had abilities that could take down anything should the worst come to pass. She needed to train just to get a feel for it since it had been a while since she last wielded the Orion weapons. She twirled it around in her hand and replied, “The order is ancient. Tradition dictates we learn all forms besides using salt rounds and silver bullets. Even you know that some things require a blade every now and then.”

“You got that right.”

Angela couldn’t help but laugh a little. She walked over towards a corner where there were some practice dummies. Along the way she grabbed one of the practice wooden swords that was roughly the same weight and size as Absolution. She began using basic forms with the short sword in her off hand. She just had to get the feeling back. She spoke, “Feel free to look around. Just be careful if you touch the bow or the spear.”

“Bows and spears?”

“Like I said, the order requires us to be familiar with all forms. Besides you never know when a bow will come handy.” Angela stopped her practice and walked over towards the table where the other weapons were. She reached into the bag and pulled out a silver arrow. She showed it to Sam, “Silver arrows,” and handed to him. “Looks heavy but when fired by a bow, it will make whatever you’re hunting nice and dead. The little groove in the tips allow for salt to add to the wound.”

Sam took the silver arrow and looked at it. He figured that Angela was just being polite. Glancing at her, he noticed that she was rather stiff. He handed it back to her but she refused to take it. She asked, “You want to try a shot?”

Sam was surprised at the question. “Uh…”

Angela watched the reaction. She was risking much if she chose to reveal what she knew. Perhaps though it wouldn’t hurt to say something just as long as she avoided certain issues. She chose her words carefully, “I heard that you are quite the archer. Much better than your brother Dean… unless that was a misunderstanding.” She deliberately emphasized the doubts.

Sam recognized the goading attempt. It was much subtler than what she used on Dean but it still was nerve striker. He gave a slight scowl and picked up the bow. “And just how did you know about that?”

Angela gave a wicked grin and crossed her arms. “The order has many resources and they get interested in hunters outside the order. Wouldn’t surprise me if one of your friends was one of the order’s scouts.”

“So you spy on us?” Sam looked at the dummies in the corner. He pulled back and started to take aim.

Angela shrugged her shoulders as if she didn’t care. “Take it as you want… Sammy.”

Sam released the arrow sooner than he wanted when he heard her call him the nickname he hated. He turned to look at her and said, “It’s Sam.”

“Whatever,” Angela replied and walked over towards the dummy that Sam had hit. It was dead on even when she goaded him. It was an old training technique. It was one thing to make a kill shot when in practice and another if you did it under duress. John had trained the boys well and she was pleased. She had followed the reports of their exploits since Sam left Stanford and wondered if it was luck or true skill. Some of those instances, she followed, without notifying anyone within the order to check for herself. “Nice shot. Even pissed you make a kill shot.” She yanked out the arrow and walked back towards the table.

“You’re unbelievable,” Sam replied not sure if to be angry or not. He put the bow back down on the table.

“Now you’re throwing a fit for one of the oldest of training exercises,” Angela sounded incredulous. In truth she wasn’t. She had to push them away. Less meddling and there was a chance. “Unbelievable.”

Sam gritted his teeth. He watched her expression and while it was smug her eyes said something different. There was a reason for this. He let the anger go. “Fine. I get it. Dad used to do the same thing when he trained us.”

Angela was stunned but she didn’t let it show. She was not even sure of what to say at the moment. She was saved from answering by the sound of steps running down the stairs and Akira came bursting in and saying, “I found it.”

****

“So this ritual allows for the vampires we hunt to become like you two?”

“Yes and no,” Akira replied to Dean’s question trying to ignore the fact that the kachina was still on his shoulder trying to kiss or peck him every five minutes. It was amusing to watch Dean trying to stop it and seemed that his efforts only goaded the spirit to continue. “The ritual allows for one vampire to become like a Shadow Chaser, as the old language says. The price, besides the blood and souls of innocents is that the vampire actually becomes a host to the spirit of an Ancient, which is bad.”

“Ancient?”

“Oldest of demons,” Angela explained, “Not only they can do the whole black smoke like you’re used to but they can physically manifest themselves into a physical form. Nice thing is that their physical bodies are entombed. Bad thing is that anyone stupid and willing can summon their spirits.”

It was a lot for Sam and Dean to take in but to Angela’s view, they were taking it pretty well. Heck they had been hunting the lower level things for most of their lives so it really wasn’t that big of a shock. It was Dean who asked, “Okay so how do we stop it?”

“The ritual calls for forty souls and forty rivers of blood. I checked your computer on the map you made Sam and found that they need one more and it must be harvested and the ritual must be performed during the hunter’s moon,” Akira offered. “It’s a live sacrifice.”

“Okay so we stake out the place like before and bust in guns blazing,” Dean said after pushing the kachina away for the thousandth time.

“Sounds like a plan… if you are willing to go against the possibility of twenty to thirty of vampires like Suarez,” Angela muttered. “Well I do know some people and I do have a few ideas on how to take out a whole nest. We just need a few things but we don’t have them here.”

“Why not just go out and get what we need?” Sam shrugged his shoulders as if wondering what the problem was.

“If I know Suarez he would have demons on his payroll keeping an eye out for us. That could be a problem but as long as the wards on the house are up, we should be able to repel them,” Angela offered. She wasn’t particularly thrilled with the Winchesters running around with a possible bounty on their heads and neither was she thrilled that she and Akira may have bounties as well.

Akira was looking at the translation on her computer. Most rituals like this tended to have a counter ritual that would be used to battle against the possessed one. That was if the ritual could succeed.  She scanned the scans and read it in the original language until one passage caught her eye. She ignored the conversation and read the passage. What she read was a possibility and it could work if they couldn’t stop the ritual. “I think I found something.”

Realizing that they didn’t hear her, she repeated herself much louder, “I think I may have something.”

The discussion of planning for the hunt stopped. Angela asked, “What did you find Princess?”

“A backup plan, Ice Bitch,” Akira replied. “There is an option should we fail to stop the ritual.”

“And what is that?” Dean asked. “Cause right now ganking the bloodsuckers before the ritual sounds like a much better idea.”

“Experience has shown that things don’t always go according to plan,” Akira replied, “Besides what I found could be considered somewhat of an anti-ritual.”

“Anti-ritual?”

“A lot of the ancient rituals, particularly ones used by demons and the like, have rituals designed to fight the original ritual. In this case, this ritual would create a full Champion to fight the Ancient. From the looks of it, it requires some preparation and ingredients we don’t have.”

“Then we have to get what we need,” Angela replied.

“So you have a plan?” Dean was starting to like this Angela chick.

Angela gave a grin, “Oh yeah but you might not like it.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Can you please tell me why we are dressed like tourists?”

Akira came out dressed in jeans and a peasant blouse and replied to Dean’s question, “They have your scent. Those actually belong to some members of the order. It might throw off them off.” She picked up the Impala keys and tossed them to Dean and walked out the door to wait by the car.

Dean pocketed the keys and looked at Sam who looked like he belonged back at Stanford. “Why did we agree to this?”

Sam gave him a duh look, “Because they know what we are up against and they’re the only ones who offered a plan. Besides we’ve had worse after us.”

“Yeah right.” Dean looked at the polo shirt and jeans he was wearing. He looked like a preppy. Suddenly the kachina appeared and jumped onto his shoulder. “Oh no. I’m not walking around like a prep boy with a kachina doll hanging on me. Get off.”

Sam started laughing at Dean’s discomfort. “You’re the one that complained about not getting a girl. And now you got one. One that really likes you.”

“Shut up, Sam,” Dean retorted trying to grab the kachina. “Stop it. You can’t stay there.”

“Dean, just let it ride in your jacket pocket. Ask it to stay there and not move unless there’s trouble. Talk to it.”

Dean scowled at his brother, “Alright, alright.” He looked for the kachina who appeared on his shoulder. He looked at it and said, “You can come… just stay in the pocket. Don’t do anything to freak people out.”

The kachina seemed to give a reproachful look before climbing down into the jacket pocket. Sam said, “See that wasn’t hard. Besides didn’t Akira say that they are used in battle?”

“Something like that. I’m going out to the car. Tell your girlfriend to hurry up.” Dean walked out the door.

“Jerk.”

“Bitch.”

Sam said nothing else but waited for Angela to show. Ever since she laid down the plan, she now seemed be reluctant to go through with it. He waited for about five minutes before going towards her room. He knocked, “Angela? You coming?”

“Why did the princess give me this thing? I haven’t worn a dress since I was sixteen and that was ages ago.” The voice wasn’t directed at Sam per se. It was more of a self-talk. “All because Marisol is closer to my build than Shayna.”

Sam gave a slight chuckle. “It can’t be that bad.”

“Shut up, Sam.”

Sam couldn’t help but laugh. She sounded so much like Dean. He laughed a bit harder when she said, “I’ll kick your ass if you keep this up.”

“You have to come out of there to do it,” Sam taunted her.  He then relented, “Angela it’s okay. Look I promise not to laugh if that’s what you’re worried about.”

There was a slight pause before her voice said, “Not worried about that.”

“Then come on out. Remember we need the stuff you said we needed if this is going to work.”

That did the trick. “Alright.”

Sam backed away from the door as the click sounded. The door slowly opened and for a moment Sam didn’t see anyone until Angela stepped from behind the door. What he saw was hardly anything to laugh at.

Angela hated wearing dresses unless it was absolutely necessary and even then she put up a fight. Her plan was a good one but that was before she found out that Marisol was the only other female operative of the order her height that stayed in that house. She went to great pains to make sure no one saw what it was that Akira picked out for her but she knew that she would have to face the music some time. Now it was here.

The dress was a light summer one, perfect for the current weather situation and of all colors it was white and simple. It fit her perfectly much to her dismay. To keep it simple, she pulled her hair back into a bun at the nape of her neck and left a few locks loose. She scowled at the high heeled sandals that showed off her ankles but they were the only thing that went with it. Now she went out to embarrass herself. She stood in the doorway and didn’t move. She chewed her lower lip and asked, “So…?”

Sam said nothing but ran an appreciative eye over Angela’s person. It was easy to see that Angela had Mediterranean heritage as it showed in compliment to the white dress. Seeing that Angela was waiting and looking miserable, he said, “You look nice. Really.”

That seemed to get Angela to move. She moved with her usual deliberateness but it was softened. She picked up the shoulder bag and said, “Let’s get this show on the road. Sooner we get everything, the sooner I can get out of this monstrosity.”

Sam followed her out the door. He said, “It’s really nice.”

“Shut up, Sam.”

****

Akira looked at the proprietor with one of her more endearing smiles. It was protocol and necessary. She gave a slight kick to Dean’s shin to keep him from saying something completely rude. She said, “Night falls quickly in summer.”

The proprietor, a rather elderly Chinese woman, maintained a stoic face and said the reply, “But rises quicker.”

“Is that some form of greeting?”

“You have no manners.” The elderly woman gave a scolding look at Dean. “And don’t you cuss at me Dean Winchester.”

Dean looked at the woman, “I didn’t say anything.”

“You were thinking of it,” the woman replied before turning her attention towards Akira. She addressed her, “I assume that you require some help.”

Akira replied, “Yes. A preparation for a ritual.”

“So you’ve read the signs. The day walker will rise unless you summon the Champion.”

“Something like that,” Akira replied in a whisper. “We need someone who knows the rituals inside and out. My partner Angela is getting things for something explosive from Old Chou. Please Mistress Chen.”

Mistress Chen nodded as she looked about her store. It was one of those souvenir shops that sold junk to tourists who thought they were experiencing a bit of China. It was a good cover for the other jobs that came her way from the order and hunters. Right now there were a few customers besides the girl and her companion. She knew they were risking quite a bit since the word was out that the Winchesters were prime targets as well as her favorite Shadow Chaser. She could tell that this plan had her name written all over it. She replied, “I’ll need you two to follow me.” She then shouted, “Paul! Watch the front.” She then led Akira and Dean towards the back of the store to an iron door.

“You really trust this Mistress Chen?”

“She’s one of the sources the order uses as well as hunters. She is one of the main connections to the underground.”

Mistress Chen listened to the conversation behind her as she led them into the room. It was lined with iron along with salt. In the room were a table and a cupboard. She held out her hand expectantly.

Akira handed the portion of the anti-ritual to her without a word. She watched while Mistress Chen read the whole thing. When she was finished she asked, “You do realize that this ritual requires someone capable of handling the spirit of the Champion summoned.”

“It’s not like I’m volunteering,” Akira replied, “And it’s too powerful for regular humans.”

“Does she know?”

“You know how she is.”

Mistress Chen nodded and began grabbing what is needed. While she was doing that, Dean asked Akira, “What was that about?”

“These kinds of things require individuals who can handle the turbo charge. I’m too young by Chaser standards and humans would go on a power trip. So that leaves Angie.”

“So you mean to have your friend get a turbo charged spirit put in her. What kind of people are you?”

Akira looked at Dean who was looking at her as if she were the most evil thing ever. She replied, “We are part of an ancient order that has protected you humans for centuries. Any means necessary are used. That’s the way it has been since it was first created.”

“Friends don’t do that to each other.”

“Dean, Angela told me to use her. You may not have understood what she meant but she gave me the go ahead. She knew that to call another would take too long.”

Dean felt the urge to throw something. Instead he paced angrily trying hard not to fly into a rage. He said, “Still this is not right. You’re risking your friend’s life here. I wouldn’t do that to Sam.”

Akira hardened her expression. “I don’t like it either but it was a hard lesson to learn. Believe me I may be one of the youngest but I was damned the moment my genes went active. It’s the way of things for all Shadow Chasers.” She raised her arms as if there was nothing else. She then turned away to go help Mistress Chen who was being polite and ignoring the conversation.

Dean said nothing else as he paced around. As far as he could tell, this was a bad idea. _Well she did say I may not like it._

It was nearly an hour before Mistress Chen had the bag ready and Angela and Sam still had not shown up. Dean had not spoken to Akira the entire time. He still felt this was a bad idea. He hoped that Sam would get back soon so he could convince him to talk them out of it. Mistress Chen’s voice broke him out of his thoughts with, “All you need is one thing of her so the spirit can find her.”

“Anything like a hair?”

“Yes but preferably something stronger.”

Akira gave the old woman a warning look. Mistress Chen nodded, “Of course the hair should do just fine. Even a nail clipping.”

“Thank you.”

“You must say the words exactly right. You’re the scholar and you know about such things.”

Akira rolled her eyes slightly and nodded, “Of course.”

Nothing more was said for a boy around twelve came into the room and started babbling in Chinese. Akira strained to pick out what he was saying for the boy was frightened. Mistress Chen had no problem with it. She replied back in the same dialect and the boy answered her queries. She then said something to send the boy out on her way. Once the boy was gone she turned to them, “It appears that your friends got themselves in a bit of trouble and you might be in trouble soon. A pair of them are heading this way now.”

“A pair of what? What is going on? Where’s Sam?”

“Dean, calm down,” Akira said sharply as she cocked her ear to listen to the commotion that was starting outside. “They are trackers. Demons that specialize in tracking prey for whoever hires them. We’ve got to get to the car.”

“And how are we going to do that? We left it a few blocks away and I’m not going anywhere without Sam.”

Akira was getting annoyed but she had to keep her cool. She opened the door after tucking the bag into her jacket pocket. She peered around and without so much as a warning, she grabbed Dean by his coat collar and pulled him towards the back exit. However their progress was halted by a huge burly fellow who blocked their path. Akira took a slight step back but crouched in attack position. “You picked a dangerous time to come after us.”

“I didn’t track you. They did,” and their pursuer pointed behind them.

Akira looked behind and spotted the two demons. “Dammit. Should’ve known that there would be renegade Chasers.”

“What? What do we do?” Dean had his back towards Akira facing the two demons.

“Do what you do best. Remember?” Akira gave a slight elbow to Dean’s back to remind him of what he had hidden under his jacket.

Dean knew exactly what she meant and slowly reached behind him. It was not a good idea to go shooting demons in the middle of the day but then again there wasn’t that much of a choice. His fingers closed on the grip.

The demons eyed him with malicious grins. Then their eyes flickered to show the familiar black. It was quick as the demons moved forward. Dean managed to pull out the gun but didn’t get a shot off as he was grabbed and pushed towards the wall near the door.

Meanwhile Akira moved towards the pair as the Chaser in front of her moved and she grabbed one of the demons and flung it right at the Chaser where it crashed with a loud thud. Akira then grabbed the nearest thing to act as a weapon, which turned out to be one of those hooks to reach the high windows. She swung it at the pair and sent them careening over the counter where they landed with a large crash. Akira could hear the screams of customers and thought, _Great._ She turned to where Dean was wrestling with the other and grabbed the demon to fling him aside while at the same time grabbing Dean and yanking him out the door. “Come on. We have to get to the car. If Sam and Angela run into trouble, she would get them there. She put a repelling ward on the car.”

“She did what to my baby?” The outrage fueled Dean to catch up with Akira as they ran down the back alleyway.

Akira didn’t miss a beat. “You can’t see it but it’s there. Just like the house.”

She would have explained further but the crash of glass sounded above them and two more tracker demons jumped down from the buildings they had been in. They landed in front of the pair and started running towards them. Dean aimed and shot at one of them but it dodged. “Damn are these things turbo charged?”

Akira would have answered but a growl came softly behind her. She turned and saw it. It charged towards Dean. Acting fast, she shoved Dean out of the way and let the hell hound hit her square in the chest. Using her upper body strength, she grabbed the hell hound by the neck and jaws. It was snapping trying to take her head off but she fought back. There was no time to be squeamish. She fed her power through her blood and she felt it course through. She grabbed the head and with brute strength, she tore the bottom jaw off. The hell hound went limp and she threw it off towards the demon that had stayed back to watch.

Dean never saw the shove until he was on the ground. He saw Akira wrestle with something invisible and recognized it as a hell hound. He then saw Akira’s eyes turn into glowing orbs as she broke the jaw and threw the beast. In the meantime one of the demons had raced towards him and he pulled his gun and shot at it where it hit it in the arm. It pissed the thing off and it started forward again until it was pushed into the wall by a blur. It turned out to be Akira whose eyes were still glowing as she pressed harder and she started saying something in Latin.

Dean recognized the Latin as part of an exorcism . Akira moved fast to counter the demon’s resistance. She continued the rite and held fast as the demon writhed while it was being exorcised. Akira finished and the black smoke was expelled leaving a corpse. The other demon stood there looking at them and was grinning. Dean said, “What are you waiting for?”

His question was answered by a growl. Akira narrowed her eyes at the demon. She said, “You want to risk it?”

“Do you want to risk him?”

Akira kept her gaze on the hell hound. Humans couldn’t see them but Shadow Chasers and certain demons could. She watched it and saw that it had the killing lust in its eyes. “Dean… Run.”

“What?”

“Run. Now!”

Dean was reluctant but he started to run. Akira was ready for it. She grabbed a nearby pole and swung with all her might. She heard bone crunching as she swung a home run on the hell hound. As soon as she swung, she took off running after Dean. She heard the growl of the hound as it got back up and started chasing after them.

Dean turned several corners feeling like an idiot for running but if it was as bad as Akira made it out to be, then they had to get out. He ran into a busy street and started walking at a fast pace trying to blend in. He glanced around casually trying to see if there were any other demons out there. He caught sight of one coming out of an alleyway. Dean quickly ducked into a store and pretended to browse the shelves while trying to get to a side exit. He wasn’t that far from the Impala. If that Angela chick did what Akira said, then he had a chance. He padded his inside jacket pocket to make sure his gun was still there.

Suddenly he spotted the tracker coming into the store. Dean moved staying low putting as much distance as he could between him and the demon. Somehow he managed to get to the back door and get out. He walked through another store and backtracked to where he had parked the Impala. It looked relatively okay but there was no sign of Akira, Angela or Sam. Trying to look normal, he lounged near the trunk and looked around. Suddenly he was thrown back into the alley wall. He grunted and tried to move but he couldn’t. He felt himself slide upwards. Then the demon came into view. He was clapping his hands in a mocking gesture. “Nice work Winchester. Running was a sure fire way to get you caught.”

Dean grunted trying to move. “Bastards. Where’s Sam?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the demon replied. “Probably one of my brother trackers has him. It was pretty risky coming after you two during the day but considering the company you’re keeping now…”

The demon started pacing as if thinking. He looked at Dean, “Now I could use you to get the other or you could be exactly what the boss needs.”

“Bite me.”

The demon walked up towards Dean and gave him a punch to the face. It was hard enough to draw blood but not enough to cause any damage. “What a mouth you have. Maybe it would be better if you didn’t speak.”

Dean tried to say something only to find his throat constrict. He glared at the demon who was looking at him bemused. The demon said, “Keep it up and I’ll be forced to hand over a drooling idiot but you’ll still be alive.” The demon held out his hand.

Dean felt something constrict in his chest but he was powerless to make a sound. It was painful and he couldn’t move. Yet something was moving in his jacket pocket. The kachina managed to get out of the pocket and leapt at the demon with a war cry. If Dean had the voice, he would have laughed at the sight of the little kachina pissing off the demon.

It provided enough of a distraction though as the demon was send flying through the air and into the wall. Dean glanced over and saw Sam and Angela running through the alley. Looking the other way he saw Akira, her eyes glowing as she brought down her hand. She looked at Dean and suddenly he dropped to the ground.

The demon got up and looked at Akira, “That was a bad thing you did.”

“No,” Akira said, “This is a bad thing,” and she moved quickly and pinned it and said the exorcism rite.

Dean tried to speak and managed to get a raspy sound out. He looked to find Angela taking on two more demons trying to put herself between them and Sam. They were still too far down the way for him to make a difference. A peep distracted him and he saw the kachina in front of his face. It reached over and said something. He then felt the raspiness recede and said, “Thanks.” He got up to help only to be grabbed by on his coat by Akira and dragged towards the car. He took a look and managed to see more heading towards them.

“Sam. Run! Don’t look back!”

Dean turned to see Sam starting to back into a run leaving Angela to take on the oncoming horde. He watched as she threw something and started running. There was a flash of blinding light forcing Dean to close his eyes. When he opened them he found himself held against the car trying to open the driver’s door. He looked for Sam and saw him fighting with the demons and Angela lying on the ground writhing in pain. More were heading towards them.

“Dean! Get in the car now!”

Dean looked back. “Sam!”

“Dean!” Akira was shouting at him.

  Dean looked again and they were gone. He got into the car and started driving. He glared at Akira, “I hope you’re happy.”


	7. Chapter 7

Angela had been to Chicago’s China Town multiple times throughout the years. Not much had changed. She recognized the various smells of spices and herbs as well as the food and other things that were associated with the people who taught her the secrets of their land. She gave a slight smile at the memories as she walked down the street and it actually made wearing a dress less bearable.

“So where are we going?”

Angela was taken aback before she looked at her companion. She replied, “I know someone who specializes in certain kinds of weaponry and the makings for specialty items.” She looked across the street before crossing, tugging on Sam’s jacket.

“So what kind of specialty items?”

“Of the explosive variety.”

“The kind to kill vampires I take it.”

“Not really but enough to provide a really bad sun burn.”

“Oh.” Sam was quiet after that, letting Angela take the lead since she knew where they were going.

It had been Sam’s decision to accompany Angela though it was pretty evident to everyone that if she had been stuck with Dean, they would have been fighting and attract attention. Originally it would have been the two brothers and the two girls but Akira pointed out that if there were trackers, she and Angela would be able to sense them quicker so it was one Chaser with one brother. The other reason was that Sam wanted to try and break that reserve Angela had. Something about her made the idea appealing.

There had been little luck in the car even though Angela had been sitting next to him the whole time in the backseat though she did manage to make some sort of comment about Sasquatch in a toy car. That had Dean chuckling and Sam throwing a piece of wadded up paper that he found at his brother. When he looked back at Angela she looked as if she were trying to make herself as small as possible and to keep eyes from looking at her. He said, “It’s not that bad.”

“Speak for yourself, Sasquatch,” came the reply as she twisted to look out the window.

Sam would have retorted with a name but he didn’t. It seemed that his efforts to get her to relax were only making her more tense. He glanced towards the front to see Akira looking at him. She mouthed for him to keep trying and then turned around and began reading something she had tucked in her bag. Sam narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the suggestion Akira made but decided to try again. He said, “There was one fake ID that I hated using but Dean made me use it anyway. We were supposed to be with the CDC but the ID said bikini inspector on it.”

“Your finest moment, Sammy.”

“Jerk.”

“Bitch.”

Angela had been watching the exchange. The idea of Sam having a bikini inspector ID was rather funny. Suddenly wearing a dress wasn’t too bad and she knew that Sam had been telling the truth. She then said, “I guess me wearing a dress pales in comparison.”

It allowed for the rest of the trip to be smooth sailing though Sam thought he was in hell when Dean cranked up the stereo for Metallica and Angela started belting out lyrics with him. What made it bearable was that Angela could actually carry a tune whereas Dean was as tone deaf as tree trunk. Akira just seemed to humor them both and continued to read. When the song was finished Dean said, “It’s nice to find a chick that knows a good classic right, Angie?”

“Don’t call me that. It’s Angela.”

“Fine. Whatever.”

“Jerk,” Angela muttered. “Pull over here in the car park.”

“Fine… bitch,” Dean replied, which sent Sam trying hard not to laugh. Dean saw the look and he said, “Shut up, Sam.”

****

Looking at her now just standing there, Sam had a pretty good idea why she hated wearing dresses. She didn’t want to appear weak and disliked using it as a means to draw an enemy close. He watched as she turned towards a sound and a little boy running towards her.

Angela hadn’t expected to see Shang again after she exorcised the demon that had taken residence nearly six months ago. She was passing through China Town and had stopped at his parent’s restaurant and things came to a head when she spotted the boy. His parents thanked her and offered her a place to stay. She didn’t accept but told them that she would keep it in mind. She never accepted things like that. Seeing the boy running at her was a bit of a surprise but her arms automatically opened to embrace the boy and to steady herself. She said, “Shang, this was a surprise.”

Sam watched as the boy ran straight into Angela’s arms. Her face was more shocked but she recovered as she talked to the boy who was gibbering away in his native dialect. Angela listened and gave a slight smile and a nod. She stood up straight and said, “Seems like I’m to go pay a visit.” She smiled apologetically and was being tugged down the street by the boy with Sam being tugged by her as she tried to slow down the boy.

They arrived at a restaurant and Angela paused a moment before the boy’s pleading tones begged her to come in. She entered with Sam and stood in the foyer looking around remembering the last time she was there. Sam noticed the expression and asked, “Did a job here once?”

“The boy was possessed when I literally walked in the door for no reason. I was heading to another job,” Angela replied with a slight shrug of her shoulder. “Parents were scared stiff even though they were stoic. I saw through it though.”

“You exorcised it.”

“Yes. It was a hard one. I didn’t want to hurt the boy.”

“He looks fine now,” Sam replied, “That’s a good thing. It’s not about the hunt. It’s about saving people.”

“Maybe.” Angela looked thoughtful at the idea. For many years she had lived the job and had detached herself from the people she saved. She just did the job and moved on to the next one. She had never thought about it before and no one in the order certainly suggested it to her. The order was polite but never friendly so it never mattered. Now, that could change.

Sam would have said more but the proprietors had come up and were greeting Angela with a mixture of bows and welcomes.  With slight tugs she was ushered forward towards one of the more private dining rooms. Sam stood back before the woman, presumably the boy’s mother, took his arm and pulled him along into the room. He found the table set and was pushed into a seat next to Angela who was looking like she wanted to bolt.

Finally the one who was the boy’s father said, “When Shang saw you, we had to repay you. We also have something for you. Chou said you would need it.” He took a silk bag from his wife and held it out to Angela who took it with the utmost care.

Angela didn’t have to ask how Old Chou knew she was coming. She had long ago given up ever finding out how the psychics knew about her comings and goings. When she first met Chou, she didn’t have to say anything. He just gave her what she needed and said to watch out for wendigos in the future. She of course listened and filed it away and it came back and near literally bit her in the rear. Since then she listened to Old Chou even when out of the blue he called her. She cradled the silk bag knowing that Chou had given her several UV bombs that she taught his son to make when she met him on a vampire hunt long ago. _You old fox you remembered._ She slipped them gently into her bag. Looking up she met Sam’s questioning look, “Old Chou was who we were going to see. The old man knows a thing or two about surprises for any kind of thing you hunt.”

“Then why the meal? I feel like this is the last meal before the sacrifice,” Sam muttered while the boy sat across from them and his siblings joined the table along with an old woman.

“Old Chou said you would be coming. Mama and Baba decided to invite you. They wanted to thank you properly for helping me,” Shang said.

Sam glanced at the boy and back at Angela who was looking rather uncomfortable. He was puzzled since she didn’t have that look when he tried to thank her for the rescue. His thoughts were distracted when a bowl was held out to him filled with… something. He took it and not sure what to do since he didn’t see a spoon or anything he whispered, “What do I do?”

“You like tofu?”

Sam gave a slight nod and with a smooth movement, Angela took the serving chopsticks and put a couple of pieces on his plate and put the same on hers. She replaced the chopsticks and took the bowl and passed it down to the child next to her. She heard the children giggling and whispering. It became more evident when Sam attempted to use the set he had been given to eat. He was following Angela’s lead since it seemed like the polite thing to do. He managed a bite while Angela took a bite and was toying with the rest. It was unusual for her since she could eat and needed to eat. She then said, “Thank you for having us.”

“No problem. You saved our son. Now we know how to help others,” the father said.

“You help other hunters?” Sam asked the question, grateful that it took away from his rather clumsy attempts with chopsticks.

“Yes. Many pass through here. Always demons. They come and go.”

“It is easy to hide in a place where few dare to look,” Angela explained quietly.

“But it is not bad. Old Chou said that a Champion will stop the murders. We just have to give help.”

Sam thought for a moment. It wasn’t that strange to have people who knew about the supernatural and try to help those that hunt them. Heck he and Dean had appealed to them on more than one occasion. From what this guy was saying, the old man named Chou was much like that psychic Missouri that they had met when they went back to Lawrence. That could be a good thing. “What is this Champion that Mr. Chou mentioned?”

“The Champion is important and will eventually be one of the remaining forces to stand against evil,” an old raspy voice came from the door.

As it turned out, it was Old Chou who walked through the door. The father of the boy came to the old man and welcomed him in. The old man said, “Don’t fuss. Just bring this old man some tea.” He then hobbled until he was close to the table. He then asked, “Do you mind if we are alone?”

The proprietors said nothing and with a quick order, the children disappeared leaving the elderly grandmother. The proprietors left as well, leaving the remnants of the meal on the table to be cleared away later. Old Chou sat down next to the elderly grandmother and with a flick of his cane the table slid to the side.

Sam was ready to jump up but Angela grabbed his forearm and shook her head slightly. Sam eased back into his chair but he was already tense. Old Chou was looking at him with an amused expression as he lit his pipe. He then said, “Don’t be afraid, boy. There are things much scarier than I that you should be afraid of.”

“Angela?”

Angela was doing her best not to do anything. Even though she was used to Old Chou’s ways, she was not always comfortable in front of him. Focusing on her breathing, she hardened her glance and looked at Old Chou. She said, “Is this necessary, old man? We came for some specialty items, not to be subjected to your whims.”

Old Chou chuckled as well as the elderly grandmother. He replied, “Old Chou knows you would rather not be here yet here you are.”

Angela forced a grin. She wanted to be gone now and she got the distinct feeling that something was not right. She glanced around before reverting her gaze back to the old man. She asked, “What are you up to old man?”

By this time, the elderly grandmother managed to stand up and had walked over to where Sam was. She began poking and prodding over him while muttering. She gave a smack to his hand when he tried to put a stop to it. “Hey!” Sam tried to hold his temper. This was as bad as being in a hospital.

“Tall and strong. Has visions. Bad memories.”

“What?” Sam was feeling anxious. Did they know something about him?

Old Chou was observing Sam as well and said, “Has a brother. The bond runs deep underneath all.”

“How do you know about Dean?”

Angela saw the panic and tried to calm Sam down, “Old Chou reads auras and when you are in front of him, he can see into your soul.”

“Yes,” Old Chou replied, “And many things you know as well. Time will allow all things to be revealed. Right now the main concern is stopping this ritual. You have a good start but this can only end with his death.”

Angela gave a slight eye roll at the obvious, “Yes I know. I failed the last two times so bite me.”

Old Chou laughed at her. When she first came into his store, he could sense the pain and anguish that she kept buried. There was also guilt and a desire to seek forgiveness. From whom, the old man was never sure and he suspected that she hardly knew herself. “A formidable enemy he is but you must understand, a Champion cannot rise if one already exists.”

“I know because the energies could actually cause destruction or something like that,” Angela replied.

Old Chou gave a tolerant smile and then spoke in Chinese, “Why summon a Champion when you already have one?”

Angela scowled slightly and replied in the same dialect, “Don’t you dare. There is always someone better.”

Old Chou chuckled while Sam wondered what they were talking about. Suddenly his head started to pound from the smell of the pipe smoke. He realized that the old man was smoking some type of herb but for what he didn’t know. He glanced at Angela who was looking rather disturbed by something. She was eyeing the old man who was looking at her. She then asked, “Why?”

“The past must meet the present and future.”

Sam had no clue what was meant by that but glancing at Angela, he could see that the answer bothered her quite a bit. Before he could ask what was wrong, the boy from earlier came running in and whispered something to the old man. Sam looked up and thought he saw someone come through the front door. He stood up to get a better look when the person spotted him. Sam recognized the familiar black eyes of a demon. “Angela. I think we have company.”

Angela stood up and looked and saw the demon heading towards them. “Trackers.”

Old Chou and the old woman stood up to leave taking the boy with them. Old Chou paused by them and said, “You already have what you need. Dig deep.” It was said more to Angela and she nodded that she acknowledged the hint. She reached into her bag and pulled out a gun and tossed it to Sam. It left her with no weapon but she could take hits better than a normal human.

The demons came in and started towards the pair. One of them actually laughed when they saw Angela. She gave a slight movement with her head to indicate her annoyance while Sam pointed the gun at them. The leader said, “Why fight? It was only a matter of time before we found you. The others already found your friends.”

Angela narrowed her eyes but it was Sam who spoke, “What did you do with Dean?”

“Nothing that I’m going to do to you.”

Suddenly one of the demons launched at Angela and she promptly caught the thing. Using the momentum, she was able to fling it to the side and into the wall. She was ready when it pulled a knife and started swinging at her. She jumped and avoided it as best as she could. She leapt onto a side table to avoid a swipe to her torso and gave a kick with her foot.

Sam fired the gun and it had little effect except to make the demon pissed. It knocked his hand away and grabbing his jacket to fling him aside. Sam was up quick and managed to deflect a few punches but got a hard one across the jaw. He was on the ground and felt a hard kick to his chest as he tried to scramble to his feet. He flopped to the ground from the pain and tried again while reaching blindly for something as a weapon. He felt his fingers close around a familiar object and gripped it hard. When he was grabbed from behind and flipped over, he whipped the object up and watched as the salt sprayed onto the face of the demon.

The demon let go screaming in pain from the salt. Sam could see smoke rising from where the salt hit as he got to his feet. He found Angela’s bag and checked to see if she put anything else besides a gun in there. He found a vial of what looked like holy water and pulled it out. He held it ready to spray the demon with it if it came closer. It did and he flung it at the demon. The screams were more agonizing than anything as it backed away. It tried to launch itself at Sam again but it couldn’t move. Puzzled, Sam looked around until his gaze went up to the ceiling. There on the ceiling in bold black lines was a devil’s trap.

At that moment the second demon went flying across the room where it landed within the confines of another devil’s trap. It was followed by Angela walking towards it holding one of her shoes and looking like she had just been winded. More of her locks had fallen loose and it was somewhat of a miracle that her dress hadn’t been torn. She indicated with shoe, “That’s right… bitch.”

Sam couldn’t help but laugh. He wasn’t even put off when she gave a mock glare and told him to shut up. He said, “See, wearing a dress worked out.”

“Then you wear one the next time,” Angela retorted as she reached down and with perfect balance removed the other shoe from her foot. She looked at both shoes aware that she was going to have to pay back Marisol for ruining them and that would cost a pretty penny. She looked at the two demons in the devil’s traps and then at the proprietors poking out of the kitchen where they hid ready with weapons. She said, “Nice move with the traps.”

“After you showed us the first time, we placed them everywhere.”

Sam bent over to retrieve the gun he lost and put it in the inner pocket of his jacket. He held fast to the holy water just in case the demons tried something. Looking at the door, he noticed more coming in. He said, “Angela, I think we better go.”

The father of the boy looked and said, “Hurry. Go through kitchen. We’ll take care of them.”

Angela looked at the man with a worried expression. She said, “They could…”

“We have traps everywhere. Now go.” He walked up to greet the demons that just entered, asking if they wanted a booth or a table.

Angela watched and took a couple of backwards steps before she felt a hand grab her upper arm. She nearly jumped but realized that it was Sam. He was tugging her towards the kitchen while trying to hand her the shoulder bag. She took it without another word and slung it over her shoulder and followed him barefoot while holding the shoes.

They found themselves in the service alley and looking down the way. Sam looked up and down, “Should we try to find Dean and your friend?”

Angela looked around while trying to place a call. She kept an eye out as well as listened for any signs of trouble. She didn’t get an answer so she said, “No. They’ll be heading to the car. We should go.” When Sam started heading towards the street they had entered the restaurant, Angela grabbed his arm and shook her head and led him in the opposite direction. “Let’s lead them on and back track.”

Sam followed her amazed that she could stand walking in bare feet in the dirty street. He figured that it must be one of those Shadow Chaser abilities. He tried to take note of the turns they took through the streets. They were heading down one alley when a demon jumped in front of them. Two more were coming up from behind. Sam immediately pulled out the bottle of holy water that he had pocketed. There wasn’t a whole lot but probably enough to get through the demon in front of them. He felt Angela’s back brush against his in a back to back defensive posture. “You have something in mind?”

Angela gave a slight roll of her eyes as her back brushed against Sam’s. It was an instinctual thing but for some reason it felt uncomfortable. She was already tense by having to be in the same vicinity and working with the Winchester brothers. Now in a fight and actually touching… it was a trip further down the road she didn’t want to take. _Why do I bother? Because he trusted you like Mary did._ Out loud, she said, “Do what you do best. Fight. And then…”

The response was never finished for the demons moved in for the kill. Sam flung the holy water at the demon in front of him burning it. He followed through with a few punches that knocked the demon aside a bit before it countered with a punch to his face. _These guys are tough._ The demon came towards him only to be flung away. Sam turned to see Angela running towards him and her eyes were glowing. She grabbed Sam by the wrist and yanked him to his feet with surprising force. “Run,” she said.

Sam didn’t say anything but he heard the barking of a hell hound. He started to run and was pushed by Angela towards the street. He spared a look and saw her with the gun that had been in his pocket. She fired three shots and there was a whimper and the hell hound was dead. The two demons she had taken on had the heels of her shoes stuck in them. She ran towards him urging him to run. The whole thing made Sam wonder if the demons after Dean were using extreme measures like hell hounds.  It was hard to think with Angela giving a push every now and then. It was as if she was trying to get him to leave her behind.

They managed to make it near where the Impala was and looked as if they were free and in the clear. Suddenly they were ambushed by more demons. Angela shouted at Sam, “Sam. Run! Don’t look back!” She then pulled one of her little bombs out of the bag.

Sam looked as she pulled it out and then started running towards the Impala. He spotted Dean and Akira and ran faster. He then saw the shadow of the light from her little explosion. Then he was on his back from a clothesline by another demon who was badly burned. Several others grabbed him and he struggled. He called for Dean but was given a hard punch to the gut. Grunting he saw Angela running towards him only to get a hit to the face by a pipe. She flipped over and landed on her back and was immediately grabbed. The last thing he saw was a fist coming at his face and he heard Dean call his name.


	8. Chapter 8

The stench was overpowering and enough to wake the dead. Sam slowly opened his eyes trying to ignore the throbbing in his head. He found that he had been tied to a chair and very tightly. Blinking to ease the throbbing he looked around and found himself in an empty room and winced slightly. His stab wound was still sore even though he had been assured that it was healed. A closer look revealed that it was like a holding cell in a jail. The walls were rust stained and there was the unmistakable sound of dripping water coming from somewhere. Sam started struggling to try and get free when a sound came to his right.

A door opened and one of the demons walked in. It was followed by two others and they were dragging something between them. The leader opened the cell next to Sam’s and said, “In here.”

Sam watched as they dragged in Angela and dropped her on the floor of the cell. Her hair had come completely undone and was hiding her face. One of them asked, “Tie up?”

“No. Jensen hit her pretty good. She’ll be out for a while and when she comes too, she’ll have one hell of a headache.”

Sam gritted his teeth in anger, “What do you want with us?”

The demon who had been talking looked at Sam with a smile and motioned for the others to get out. He locked the cell and went over to Sam’s cell. He unlocked it and with a quick movement was in front of Sam with a predatory gleam in his eye. The demon said, “It’s not me that wants you Sammy. You see there are three prize catches among the more intelligent of the things you hunt. You and your brother are two and the third…” He then made a sweeping gesture towards the unconscious Angela. “There are others that people want but you three are… unique.”

Sam listened. It wasn’t the first time that someone told him that he was special. Hell he and Dean were after the yellow eyed demon, the one who said that he had plans for him and others like him. The fact that Dean was included in this job with was somewhat of a pause. He replied, “And why is that?”

“Aside from being a pain in the ass for my boss… I don’t know. I’m not paid to answer your stupid questions, Sammy.”

“It’s Sam.”

Sam and the demon turned to look at the person who spoke. Sam looked on in concern as Angela gave a slight moan as she lifted her head. She looked at the demon and repeated, “The name is Sam… bloody demon.”

The demon gave a predator’s grin before replying, “Alright. Sam it is.” He then gave a hard punch to Sam’s chest. The demon laughed when he heard Angela curse in her native tongue. It had been years since he heard her speak that language and she only did so when extremely emotional.

Sam thought he heard a crack and the pain was excruciating. He grunted and gritted his teeth trying hard not to cry out. He struggled against his bonds. His chin was then grabbed by the demon and he was forced to look the demon in the eye. He took heaving breaths as he looked at the demon. He said, “Bastard.”

The demon replied, “Such anger. This could be fun. Well enjoy your accommodations.” The demon released Sam’s chin and walked out of the cell. It motioned for the other two to follow and they left with the door shutting with a clang.

Sam watched until they left. When they were gone he looked over to see that Angela was still face down but her head was in her hands. Sam gave a frown of concern. “Are you all right?” When she didn’t answer, Sam tried to move to see her face. She didn’t move. “Angela?”

She still didn’t answer. Sam thought that her response earlier might have been a fluke and she might have a concussion. He made shuffling movements to get his chair closer to her cell. He was winded by the time he got there and his chest hurt more than his abdomen. He paused to take a few moments to catch his breath. It was then she said, “Your chest okay?”

Sam looked at her and saw that she managed to lift her head. She was still holding it in her hands but she had managed to turn it to look at him. Her hair partially obscured her face but Sam managed to see a massive bruise forming across her left cheek. Sam tried not to wince. That Jensen demon really hit her hard. She was looking at him so he replied, “I think he cracked a few.”

Angela gave a slight murmur. She then said, “You got off easy. Most contracts… they kill.”

Sam gave a slight shake of his head. “Well that certainly shines a light on things.” He continued twisting his wrists and felt the rope burn. He looked at Angela. She was still facing him but her eyes were closed. “Angela, are you okay?”

Angela gave a slight curse in what Sam could determine to be Italian. She then said, “Just a massive headache. Half breeds can take quite a bit of punishment but our bodies are still human so crap like this really hurts.”

Sam turned to look forward. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. Heck he wasn’t even sure if he should ask. He waged the internal debate for a few minutes before sighing. He then asked, “H--have you been hurt that bad often?”

“You going soft on me?”

Sam looked at Angela as she managed a smile. He couldn’t resist smiling with her. “I thought Dean and I were bad about talking.”

The chuckle he heard from her he considered a good sign. She said, “Too many years hunting alone.” She then grunted and gave a slight moan.

Sam looked to see Angela turn herself over onto her back. Her hair fell back to reveal the bruise on her face in its entirety and it was a nasty one. Sam noticed her feet and they were remarkably unharmed even though she ran several block and managed to kick demon ass barefooted. The dress had gotten dirty but was not badly off. In fact the only part of her showing any kind of damage was her head. He asked, “Your kind heal pretty fast?”

Angela was staring up at the ceiling and she had one of her arms flung across her forehead. She debated on whether or not to keep up with the back and forth. Her head felt so muddled that she felt she could reveal everything if she wasn’t careful. Still sooner or later the brothers will come across another halfling. The more they knew, the less likely they would make a mistake if the halfling was a renegade. She replied, “Part of the vampire package. That includes enhanced vision and hearing, strength, and reflexes that make us like Chinese acrobats.”

“Do you drink blood?”

Angela paused and sighed deeply. “We have fangs that appear in the form of elongated eye teeth. We don’t need blood to live but… if we suffer severe blood loss from injury, it… is necessary.” She looked up, avoiding Sam’s gaze. It was always this way when she told the truth. It was the disgusting part and it brought back memories that she wanted left buried. She could feel the familiar burn of tears forming in one of her eyes and she squeezed it shut to try and stop.

Sam had no idea what to think. Akira told him and Dean that they had vampire genes in them. It never occurred to either of them to ask about the need for blood. Here Angela laid it bare and almost as if she was ashamed of it. She did say that they didn’t need it to live. He looked at Angela lying on the floor. He frowned at the expression that she was making. He tried leaning over to see her clearly. It didn’t help that the lighting was terrible and his position made it hard to do anything. Still he made the effort. Was she… crying? “Hey, is something wrong? You hurt anywhere else?”

Angela cursed herself. He had noticed. Still looking up at the ceiling, she replied, “I’m fine. I just feel like crap. When I get out of here, I’m going to rip Suarez’s head off.”

“I’m sure you will but that’s not what I was asking about.”

“No chick flick moments, Sam.”

Sam gave an exasperated sigh. He swore it was like talking to Dean. “Angela, I know something’s bothering you.”

“Don’t push it Sam.” Angela then looked over at Sam and saw that he was giving her a look. She didn’t know that it was what Dean called the bitch face. At the moment she felt like hitting something out of frustration. The look Sam was giving her made it die down. She relented… a little. “You know there are times that I hate being who I am. I hate myself for being born with these abilities. That’s why I’m so good at hunting especially vampires. I hate them because on some level… I hate myself. At least what you and your brother do is more honorable.”

Sam paused a moment to think. He then frowned, “You think vengeance is honorable?”

“The demon killed your mother and God knows how many others. Besides you and your brother care about those that are affected. You see the shades of grey.” Angela felt the headache recede enough and attempted to sit up. She was used to being hit across the head so she was ready for the slight dizzy spell and took her time. Finally in an upright position, she scooted to lean against the bars for support. She drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around them and she rested her head on her knees. Now she contemplated on possible plans of escape.

Sam noticed her movements and shuffled his seat to a better position. He still hadn’t figured out how to loosen the ropes since they were tied pretty tight. After giving up in frustration, he said, “I’ve met my fair share of hunters who didn’t care. You’re nothing like them.”

“Thanks but don’t expect me to indulge in a chick flick moment. Twice in one sitting would kill me.”

Sam couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright. I suppose you’re thinking of a plan?”

“Working on it.”

Before Sam could answer, there was a little chirping sound. He looked around peering into the badly lit room. The sound came again and he tried to find the direction it came in. He then felt a sudden weight on his knee and he looked down. Standing on his knee was the kachina that had taken a liking to Dean. It was looking at him intently and gave an inquiring chirp. “I think we may have some help.” He then asked the kachina, “What are you doing here?”

Angela turned to look at Sam and spotted the kachina. She managed a smile. “Looks like it.”

The kachina began speaking in its language and scampered up to stand on Sam’s shoulder. Sam followed its movements and asked, “You think you can loosen the knots?”

It chirped and slid down to work on them. The work was interrupted by Angela saying, “We should send it back to the house. Get Dean and Akira to follow it back here.”

Sam looked over at Angela, “What?”

“They’re not going to do anything to us. We’re wanted alive… more or less. It will buy time for your brother and Akira to get here wherever here is.”

The kachina chirped in a questioning manner. It then let off a series of exasperated sounds that had had Angela grimace in a smile. She then said, “Hey I may not understand Anasazi but I recognize that tone. Don’t pretend to be my mother. It’s the best option we have.”

Sam was chuckling and it threatened to be a full blown laugh. He sobered quickly and asked, “You’re serious aren’t you?”

Angela looked at him, her tawny eyes glittering in the bad light. “Scoping out with what I can see, there are probably more barriers like this between here and freedom. Our best bet is to wait until they decide to take us to Suarez. It would be easy to make a break from there.” She then sighed. “That’s just my thoughts. Feel free to give your own while I indulge in mental self-flagellation.” She then put her head down to think some more.

The kachina continued to watch Angela before looking at Sam. Sam looked over at Angela who hadn’t moved from the position she assumed. He considered saying something to her but decided against it. She had given her advice and that was where she was going to leave it for the time being. Sam wracked his brain for an idea. If he knew Dean, his brother would be planning on busting in with his whole arsenal that is if he knew where to look. Dean always looked after him to point of being an overprotective watchdog yet it was the most comforting thought Sam had. His mind made up he looked at the kachina and said, “Find Dean.”

The kachina gave a slight scold and nipped his ear before jumping down and taking off into the darkness. Sam watched the kachina go before reverting into silence. He looked at Angela and then back on the floor. There was nothing else to do and his eyes started to feel heavy.

****

_“Why Sam?”_

_Sam was lying on the bed when he felt the drip on his forehead. He frowned and placed a hand to finger the wetness. He looked at it on his fingers and then he looked up. Jess was on the ceiling, looking at him._

_“Why Sam?”_

_Sam screamed as he watched her burst into flames…_

Sam jerked his head upright as he woke up from his nightmare. It had been awhile since he dreamed of Jessica dying. The last few times included a dream walking and dreaming about Angela dying. It didn’t make any sense yet Sam couldn’t help but think that maybe the demon had something to do with it. He glanced over at Angela who was trembling. She had been sitting as he had last seen her but now she was visibly shaking as one of her arms tightened across her head. _Maybe she has a concussion and doesn’t want to say anything._

Angela was not having a good time of it. She had dropped off into a doze and she started to dream. At one point she was dreaming of fighting Suarez when all of a sudden he had stopped and looked at her. He then began to talk to her. He said, “You know it doesn’t have to be this way.”

Angela narrowed her eyes once she realized that she was pulled into a dream walker state. She replied, “You know I can’t allow you to become a day walker. You will drink the earth dry with the spirit of the Ancient in you.”

“Please. How wrong is it to become a god? If anything your precious mortals should bow down to us.” Suarez started circling her.

Angela followed Suarez’s movements. She could not let him get to her. “We already have the gods. You will just violate the natural order.”

“Oh yes and war between my armies and your so called order. The Centurion is obsolete and they will fall.” Suarez gave her a patronizing look.

“They will remain as long as your kind remains,” Angela spat with venom.

“Why do you hate our kind so much?” Suarez asked in a mocking look of puzzlement. “Could it be that you hate what you are; that you are a traitor to the very races that gave birth to your kind?”

Angela gritted her teeth. He baited her this way the last time. She could not fall for it again. She said nothing and continued to stare at her enemy.

Suarez watched her. He had tried this before and had gotten her to lash out before. He was confident he could do it again. “I don’t blame you. After all to have one parent a bloodsucker and one a human… it’s got to be rough being the odd one out. Of course that time you were caught… that was something else.”

Angela quivered in rage. She knew what Suarez was getting at. It was something she had lived with every day of her life and nothing pissed her off more than having someone drag it out and through the mud making more of it than what it really was. She gritted her teeth as her tawny eyes flashed dangerously, “I curse the gift yes because in order to have these abilities, there is a price. There is always a price.”

“And you would know plenty about that now would you?”

“As well as you. You’re walking right into it and you don’t even care,” Angela replied with a shrug of her shoulders in a similar manner that Sam would have done.

“You don’t care either. If anything you volunteered for the little anti-ritual.”

“I know plenty,” Angela retorted. “Besides another will be the Champion.”

Suarez let out a laugh. “Unlikely story. Out of your pathetic little team, you are the only one with the age and experience to handle such power.”

“It’s the younger Winchester,” Angela bluffed. It was wrong but if she could divert attention away from her, it would give her a chance when the time came.

Suarez looked at her in surprise. “You’re bluffing. Humans can’t tolerate the raw power of a true Champion. Unless… unless there is something you know about the youngest Winchester.” He searched her face to see if he could get some semblance of truth from her.

Angela knew it was wrong to use what she knew about Sam. It was something she had discussed with John once. She had asked him if he was ever going to tell his son what he knew about the demon. Why the demon chose Sam.

_John was standing there looking almost lost but the determination was there. She said, “It isn’t right that you are keeping this from him. From the both of them.” She crossed her arms over her chest for good measure._

_“It’s for their protection,” John replied. “This is bigger than they know. You know that.”_

_“You aren’t protecting them by not telling them. Eventually they will figure it out. Eventually the demon will push; push at Sam to get him to break. That is what he does.” Angela narrowed her eyes for good measure, trying to look stern._

_“God you sound like Mary,” John replied chuckling weakly. He then sobered, “But all the more reason not to include them in on this. Not yet.”_

_“You can’t wait forever, John. This life you live… life is short and take it from someone who has had a lengthy lifespan and more than a lifetime of regrets.”_

_“I know. That’s why I searched for you. I made inquiries…”_

_“You found me and I helped you as much as I could. Don’t let this wait.”_

Of course he did wait and then at the last moment, he dumped the burden on Dean. It had pissed her off when she found out his plan when she paid him a visit. Yet she couldn’t deny him. She saw the love he had for his sons in his face. _And I had to go meddle some more. No wonder I prefer self-deprecation._ Angela looked at Suarez defiantly. She wouldn’t say anything. She could own up and say eventually that it was she that would host the Champion. She answered his question, “I do know things but I would rather keep them to myself. Besides you know the rule about Champions. Humans can be them too. It is all about them being chosen.” Saying nothing more, Angela started chanting the phrase that forced her out of the dream realm.

Angela felt the rush as she jerked her head upwards. She cradled her head in one of her palms before moving to stretch her stiff limbs. Slowly she lowered her legs and took a couple of breaths.

“Angela?”

Angela looked over at Sam and realized that he had been watching her. He looked like he had a nightmare himself. How long had they been in that dump? Slowly she flexed her limbs and bent her legs. She then stood up slowly and began to stretch. Her headache was gone… well reduced to a bearable throb. Finishing she walked over to the bars and tested her reach. She was close enough to get to the ropes binding Sam’s wrists behind him and began working with them. She replied, “I’m fine. It was just a little dream walking.”

“You were pulled in.”

“More or less,” Angela replied as she tried to unpick the knots. She ignored the pain the slivers of rope that splintered into her fingers as she worked with them. It was a minor thing. “Suarez was trying to goad me into a fight. He did that the last time.”

“You resisted right?”

“This time. That time… no.” Angela briefly paused to study her progress. The knot was a tight one and it would take time. At that moment, she wished that she had a knife but she plunged forward. She explained, “I didn’t resist the last time. We fought and it nearly killed me. To be killed in the dream realm means you die here. The mind can’t live without the body.”

Sam listened while he felt her hands tugging on the ropes. She gave a slight curse but she continued working on the ropes. Finally Sam felt them loosen and they fell away. Once his hands were free, he bent over to untie his legs. Once free he stood up and pushed the chair slightly away. The chair could be a potential weapon. He looked around for possibilities when he looked over at Angela who was staring at her palm with a peculiar expression on her face. He followed her gaze and saw that she had cut herself, possibly from the rope.

Angela stared at the red pool that was forming in her palm. The cut wasn’t too deep but it was enough to draw blood. She watched as it oozed out of her wound. The dark red spoke of oxygen and life. Suddenly she could hear the small pulse, the beating as it pumped through her veins. She could smell the power in it. One taste couldn’t hurt. It had been so long… Her hand moved slightly but she resisted. Yet it was calling to her.

Suddenly her hand was grasped in a pair of larger hands. Angela’s concentration had been broken as she watched the pair of hands took a piece of shirt that had been torn off and wrapped up her hand. She could hear the pulse recede in her mind. It had been too close. The pair of hands held hers for a moment before releasing them. By then her normal faculties were under control. She looked up and saw a pair of mossy greens looking at her with concern. Slowly she said the first thing that came to her, “Thanks… Sasquatch.”

Sam had seen her look at her hand as if she didn’t know what to do with it. He noticed that the cut wasn’t deep but it was bleeding. He quickly tore a strip off the shirt he was wearing and reached through the bars to grasp her hand and wrap it. It wasn’t ideal since he had no antiseptic or water to clean it but as long it was covered, it should be fine. When he was finished, he slowly released her hand and waited her for to say something. When she finally did gave an annoyed look at her and replied, “At least your sense of humor is still intact.”

Angela gave a slight chuckle. She then looked at her hand and put it down. She then looked around the room. She had no idea of what to do but seeing the free chair gave her and idea. She said, “Well in this line of work you need one. I think I have an idea but I’m not sure if it will work.”

Sam didn’t say anything about her sudden change in demeanor. Instead he focused on the possibility of escape. “Shoot.”


	9. Chapter 9

Akira did her best to ignore the angry pacing that Dean was doing while she pulled out weapons to stash into the Impala. She knew he was pissed at having to leave his brother behind but if they didn’t get out, then they would have all been in trouble and possibly dead. When he passed by for what seemed like the thousandth time, she said, “Relax Dean.”

“I can’t relax. Somewhere out there some psycho vamps have my brother and are probably using him for a chew toy.” Dean was giving his signature glare which didn’t impress the half vampire in front of him.

Akira replied calmly, “She won’t let them do anything to him. If anything she’ll rip their heads off before that happens.”

“Right the ice bitch knows what to do. In case you haven’t noticed, she was caught too.”

Akira shook her head and began stuffing everything she could get into the duffel. She fingered the silk bag that Angela managed to toss to her before they escaped. She had no idea how those things worked but heck might as well take them. She saved the blades for last since she knew that Absolution and the Orion blade had to be handled with care. She then said in a controlled voice that betrayed her annoyance, “Angie was trying to maintain a distance between Sam and the trackers. It didn’t work out.”

“I’ll say it didn’t work out. Now we need to go and get my brother out there.”

Akira zippered the duffle shut and looked at Dean, “And where so you propose we start looking? There are tons of places that bear some significance in rituals and the like all around this town. Do you plan on looking? In case you haven’t noticed, the hunter’s moon is tonight. So make yourself useful and try to give me a logical place to look.”

Dean would have said something when he felt something climb up his leg. A few seconds later, the kachina was jumping onto his shoulder and speaking rapidly in its strange language. Dean had forgotten that the kachina had been in his pocket and had gotten out to join in on the fight. “And where did you come from?”

Akira was listening to the kachina speaking in its language. Anasazi was not a language she was expertly fluent in but when she had a job in New Mexico, she needed to learn the basics of it so a friend taught her that old language. She now listened as the kachina rambled on, trying not to laugh as it would occasionally stop and give an affectionate peck on Dean’s ear. When she finally got a coherent message, she said, “The kachina knows where they are.”

“Great. Let’s go.”

Akira nodded and then shoved the duffle into Dean’s hands. “Load that up. I have to get one last thing.” She didn’t wait for Dean to answer but went to the closet where the Orion weapons were stored. She pulled out the slender bag they were kept in and slung it over her shoulder before walking over to where Angela slept. She opened the door and walked in the darkened room to where she knew Angela kept it.

Even though Angela came up with the plan, she had been reluctant to leave the one thing she had carried with her all the years she had been hunting. Absolution was lying there in the drawer, the polished silver looking like it was brand new. Slowly Akira looked at it and closed her eyes. After a moment, she slowly reached down and picked up the blade with as much care and respect as she could. When she had it out of the drawer, she opened the bag the Orion weapons were in and slide the sword in. She slung it back over her shoulder and marched outside the house, stopping only to grab the bag the ritual items were in.

Dean was in the car trying to get the kachina to stay on the dash. “Stay there.”

The kachina acted like it didn’t understand and leapt onto Dean’s shoulder. From there it chattered in its language. It was also occasionally cooing at Dean making him ready to fling the thing out of the car in annoyance. He decided to when the passenger side opened with its familiar creak and Akira slid in holding a bag. “It’s about time. What did you do? Reapply your makeup?”

“Bite me. Just get going. We don’t have much time.” Akira glared as she fastened the seat belt. She pulled out a .45 and checked it before tucking it into the pocket of the jacket she managed to grab. She checked the bullets and noted what kind they were. She murmured to herself, “Excellent.”

Dean tore out of the driveway and took off down the street. The kachina stopped pestering him and jumped to the dashboard. Occasionally it would squawk and point in a direction. Akira would supply a translation but it was mostly pointing. Dean understood that much. Right now the most important thing was to rescue Sammy and in the process take down as many as them sons of bitches as he could. Even though these two chicks had helped them out, he didn’t trust anyone with Sam’s safety but himself and Bobby. Thinking about Sam and if he was all right tempted Dean to floor the engine but he was reminded quietly by Akira that he needed to stay within the speed limit. He muttered, “Fine… bitch.”

“Jerk.”

****

Dean thought everything in the world was messing with him as he and Akira stood in the middle of an empty field near the lake. “Great. Trusting a stupid doll.”

The kachina reacted by giving him a hard tap to his head. It then moved quickly and did it again. Akira meanwhile was calmly looking at the area. The initial spot that he kachina showed them was too small for her or Dean to fit through. Scanning, she recognized an island. Having an idea, she pulled out the Blackberry she used on occasion and connected to the Internet. Finding what she needed, she muttered to herself, “Just as I thought.” She turned to see Dean trying to grab the kachina and stifling a sigh and an eye roll, she said, “Dean! I think I know a way to get down there.”

Distracted from trying to get rid of the kachina, Dean replied, “Alright. So how do we get in?”

“Well this area we’re standing on is part of the site where the World Columbia exposition was held in 1893. That island over there is the Wooded Island designed by the same guy that designed Central Park.”

“Spare me the history lesson, professor. Just tell me how to get to Sam.”

Akira merely shook her head. Dean had to understand this. “The fair was a means to show the world of supremacy. While not a place of power per se, it would hold significance for the ritual Suarez is attempting. My best bet is that he’ll try to hold it on the island out there.”

“So what does that mean for us?”

“How about a good old fashioned ambush?” Akira shrugged her shoulders indicating that she was going to leave this one up to Dean. She knew by looking at his posture that he was going to do whatever he wanted to do just as long as his brother was safe. She would go along with it and try to keep it from getting out of hand but at this point, Dean would run the show.

Dean listened to Akira’s little history lesson. It didn’t hit him until it sunk in that they were not going to be able to get to where they were holding Sam. Maybe the ambush would be a good idea. They could disrupt the ritual and then kick a bit of vampire ass in the process. At least Sam wouldn’t be chow for them. He said, “Alright. I’m for an ambush. Just one question: How do you know that is where it is going to be?”

Akira had been expecting the question. It was pretty dark now so she fished out a pair of night vision goggles and handed them to Dean. She pointed out at the island and said, “Look near the shoreline.”

Dean adjusted the goggles accordingly and followed where Akira was pointing. He then spotted them. They were guards but it was hard to tell if they were vampires or those tracker demons. “Wow. I’m not even going to ask how you managed to see them.”

“Part and parcel of the vampire package,” Akira said as she plucked the goggles away.  She then motioned for Dean to follow. “This way.”

****

Suarez was surveying the set up on the island. They had about an hour left before the ritual would begin. He looked at the container of souls, all thirty-nine of them. He smiled at the thought that he was one step closer to achieving what he wanted the most. His last foray into the dream realm was a disappointment. He was so sure that he would break her again and force her to fight. Yet she resisted and she forced herself out.

Suarez turned away from the preparations and looked towards the mainland where his prize was. He was pleased that he got two out of three. That meant the brother would follow. The loyalty of the Winchesters was and annoyance as well as amusing since it was on par with borderline obsessions. He was also pleased that his trackers managed to catch her, the one who was the bane of his existence.  He didn’t even mind that they gave her what would sure to be a blinding migraine. Just as long as he had her, it would be all right.

It surprised him that he had her and the younger Winchester when he heard the news. He was expecting the elder brother but it didn’t matter. If he had one, he would get both. He looked up at the moon and noticed the position. It was almost time and it was time to get his final sacrifice.

Suarez never objected to the use of the old underground tunnels. They were convenient if you wanted to hide something and there were hundreds of other access points if you needed them. Hanson, the lead tracker liked them because no one would be able to hear the screams if he decided to torture his victims. Suarez didn’t care one way or another unless he made a specific request. He asked, “Hanson, how hard did your man hit her?”

“Right across the face. Jensen made sure she’d have a headache,” Hanson replied proudly as he led the way to the holding cells.

“You’ve always done what I ask,” Suarez replied as he followed the tracker. “You’ve always been loyal.”

“You pay me well. It is a fool who doesn’t realize how good he has it.”

“Indeed.”

Suarez and the tracker said nothing more as Hanson led them through one final door. Hanson paused a moment to verify for sure if he wanted to go in. Suarez gave a slight nod and Hanson turned the handle. The lock responded with a rusty clang and Hanson pushed the door open. Suarez walked in to see the two cells each with their occupants. They appeared to be in conversation and there was an empty chair with the remnants of rope on it. He then said, “Well, well, well. Who would have thought that I would have one of the Centurion’s dogs and a Winchester within my grasp?”

****

Angela had thought of maybe taking out their captors when they were to be taken to their superior. She suggested that Sam use his chair as a weapon and she could use the rope. When he gave her a look she said, “I’ve fought tougher things using nothing more than a toothpick.” It was an exaggeration but she made her point.

She managed to get a small piece of rope and tucked it within her hands. It brought back memories of when she was learning how to pick pocket and palming techniques. She finished outlining her plan to Sam, “Once they open the doors, do what you have to.”

Sam gave a slight movement of his head in acceptance, “Alright. It’s not the most thought out but it should work.”

“Going in guns blazing is usually a last resort but in a pinch it works,” Angela replied as she glanced around, “Though I think there’s going to be a lot of improve on this one.”

Sam didn’t say anything else since the door creaked open. Angela looked over and her eyes narrowed as she sniffed the air. She recognized that scent well and she stepped away from Sam, manipulating the piece of rope she had so it wouldn’t be seen. She replied to Suarez’s question, “Might be a case of dumb luck on your part.”

Suarez tsked at her and replied, “Still the uncouth lady though it was my understanding you were a stunner in your day.”

“Shut your pie hole, asshole.”

“And still a dirty mouth.” Suarez didn’t look offended at all. Rather he looked pleased. He then diverted his attention to the human. He said, “Sammy Winchester. I never thought your big brother would ever let you out of his sight. It would have made capturing you two so much easier.”

Sam glared at the vampire and had his fists clenched. “What do you want?”

Suarez looked at Sam as if he were dense. “What do I want?” He pointed at himself for emphasis before gesturing towards Sam. He added, “I want you Sammy. And don’t try to correct me. You see I need forty souls and forty rivers of blood. I’m sure she told you as much.”

“Not really,” Sam replied. “She’s not the academic.”

“Then you don’t know her as well as you should.”

“Stow it, bloodsucker. You have me and you can do what you want. Let him go.” Angela glared at Suarez.

“Now why would I do that?” Suarez then motioned with his fingers and Sam’s cell opened. With a quick move, he motioned for his trackers to grab him.

Sam knew he didn’t have a chance but figured to take it anyways. As soon as one of the demons came close, he took a swing and punched. It was enough to distract attention and allow him to try to escape. He didn’t get far though for he was tripped and grabbed. He grunted and tried to wrestle his way free. He felt the hair at the back of his head being grabbed and he was staring into Suarez’s face. Suarez grinned in an amused fashion. “You seek a means to escape? I don’t think so.”

Sam felt the air rush out of his lungs as he felt a punch hit his stomach. He felt his limbs go limp as he gasped for air. He glared up at Suarez who said, “Load him up. His soul will do.”

Angela watched in fear and anger though the anger was more apparent as the trackers took Sam out of the cell after Suarez winded him. They didn’t leave however and stood there waiting. Sam looked at her trying to catch his breath. She moved her head slightly but enough for him to notice. She narrowed her eyes when Suarez opened her cell. She took a step back and started sliding into a defensive position. She said, “You’ll not live to see the end of this.”

“Actually I will,” Suarez replied as he entered the cell and began following her movements. He circled her, trying to taunt her into doing something as foolish as the Winchester boy. “You see my dear. I don’t want his blood though considering the rumors I’ve heard his blood would be suitable. However it is not on par with yours.”

“So you want to use my blood as the fortieth river?”

“Why yes. After all half breed blood is valuable so heck I could even use the princess’ blood.”

Angela continued to back away towards the shadows of the cell. She could lay the element of surprise though considering that it was Suarez, it might not help. She replied, “And what is your reward in all this? To become like my kind? You do know that you must host the Ancient who is granting you that power.”

“A minor problem. To be a day walker is power.” Suarez advanced towards her. He had a feeling that she might try something and it wasn’t like she was going to get past the trackers even if she got past him. The demons would kill the boy faster than she could get there.

“A cursed life.”

“We already live cursed lives. We are bound by the thirst. You know the feeling of the craving; the way blood sings to you and begs you to taste it.”

Angela frowned as she turned her head to the side. She knew that feeling well. She continued to back up as Suarez continued to taunt her about the power of blood. She looked at Sam who was hanging onto every word that was being said. She was in danger of having her shame being paraded but none of it was going to matter if she didn’t take a course of action. When she was close enough, she stopped moving and stared at the vampire. She said, “The thirst is a curse but you seek to bring a blight. That I cannot allow.”

“You are not in a position to bargain.”

“Wanna bet?” Angela then sprang forward and with the rope, she had it around Suarez’s neck and she tightened it around his neck. In the same fluid motion, she had him on his back.

Sam had managed to get the wind back into his lungs and managed to somehow shrug off his attackers. Angela joined him to punch out the one who hit her in the face. It was Sam that grabbed her wrist and together they ran out of the cell but now they had to face the daunting task of trying to get out of that underground cavern.

They took too many turns to count before they found themselves out on a dock of some sorts. They hid behind some crates and watched what was going on. Angela used her sight to look all around. She looked up at the moon. She held it in awe and said, “La luna del catchatore.”

Sam frowned at her. He was familiar with Latin but he wasn’t familiar with the language she was using. Instead he focused on the dock and the demons milling about until they were joined by one of the trackers that winded him. He said, “It looks like we’re near one of the old sewer pipes.”

Angela diverted her gaze from the moon. It was surprising that she was able to see it even though they were in the city. She had seen only one other moon like that and that was the night… She looked at what Sam was looking at and then around. She then looked out at the lake and thought that she picked up something. She squinted to get a better look. Suddenly it became clearer. She then said, “We need to get to the island. That’s where they plan to do the ritual.”

Sam couldn’t see anything in the dark but was willing to give Angela the benefit of the doubt. “Okay so how do you propose get over there?”

Angela shrugged her shoulders, “Steal a boat?”

“That would be a good idea if you were sure that you were free and in the clear,” Suarez’s voice came from behind them.

Angela whirled around, her eyes glowing. She was already in a fighting position even though she and Sam were surrounded by demons and vampires. Some were wielding weapons while others were poised, ready to spring. Instinctively she moved to put herself between them and Sam.

Sam frowned at her movements. Looking up, he could see that they were surrounded. If anything if they tried anything, they could be attacked and pretty much killed. He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Angela.”

Angela wanted to shrug off the hand. She knew what Suarez was capable of. She had to fight back. That hesitancy cost her though. Suarez had reached out and grasped the wrist that had the cut on her hand. She pulled against it but was yanked forward until she was in a grasp that she couldn’t break free of. The scrap of cloth was ripped off and she could feel his breath on her hand. It only made her tug harder. She couldn’t go through that again.

Sam realized his mistake but by then it was too late and she had been yanked into the vampire’s grasp. He tried not to gag while the vampire sniffed her hand in a seductive manner. He saw Angela struggle harder. He shouted, “Hey!”

Suarez stopped his tormenting of Angela to look at Sam. He flung her off where she was pounced on by the demons. She wouldn’t get far and it proven by the fact that she recoiled from the blades that they pulled out and pointed at her. Suarez took the moment to walk up to Sam and look at him. He said, “So little Sammy Winchester is trying to be the tough guy. And here I thought that was your big brother.”

“It’s Sam,” Sam retorted.

Suarez laughed. Humans picked the strangest of times to assert their preferences. “I see that your soul will be perfect. That and with the blood of a 'Chaser'…”

“Bite me.”

“Oh I will… once the ritual is completed. Now you both could come quietly and it will be less painful or you can fight and risk possible mortal injuries.” Suarez shrugged his shoulders. “Either way you both will die. One is just more painful than the other.”

Angela was listening but she was focused on the point of the blade that was pointed at her. She didn’t need to have it told to her. She could feel the coldness of the metal even though it wasn’t touching her. It was the bane of her kind’s existence. She was breathing heavily as she was circled by Suarez’s minions.

Sam watched as they circled and cornered Angela. He knew that she would do what she could to get him out but that would mean at a cost to her. Dean would probably accept that since she was willing to do that and she wasn’t exactly human. Yet he couldn’t let her do that. He watched them edge closer to her and she backed up only to have her back pressed against the wall. No. There had to be another way and he had to believe that the kachina made it back and got Dean to come out here or to the island. He said, “Alright. We’ll go with you.”

Angela looked at Sam with a look that asked him if he was crazy. Sam made a slight expression. Angela nodded in response. She would go along with him for now. Sam looked back at the vampire, “We’ll come with you. No fighting and no tricks.”

Suarez looked at Sam as if judging to see if he was being honest or not. It didn’t matter to him but he was intrigued by this human. His eyes drifted to the tattoos on Sam’s forearm and he grasped it and took a look at the sigils. He then glanced at Angela who was still pressed against the wall and was looking at him with a venomous look. He smiled. He then said, “Fine. The less damage to the bodies the better and I would hate to waste any blood. Take them.”

Sam held up his hands and allowed himself to be pushed to the waiting boat. He passed Angela who was pushed to move in step behind him. He heard her hiss as if she had been burned and would have turned to ask if she was okay but he was told to move forward. _Dean I hope you’re out there._


	10. Chapter 10

Akira sniffed the air. Her olfactory senses were not as keen as some of the older halflings she knew of but she did have the advantage to sniffing out enemies. She continued to load the shotgun with the rounds that she had found in the safe house while sniffing and listening. She could hear the vampires that had been left behind as guards and they were patrolling. The fact that they never came this way bothered her greatly.

The wind began to blow and the brush began to rustle in the wind as she finished loading the shotgun. She began placing extra rounds into various pockets in her jacket. She glanced over to where Dean was loading his .45 with the ammo she gave him. She cocked the shotgun to indicate that she was ready and she looked over the hill where the makeshift dock was.

Dean was trying to keep himself busy. This was a rather stupid plan, at least at one point he thought so, but it was all he had to go on. Even though every instinct told him that he should put a knife to Akira’s throat and go rescue Sam, it also told him that he could trust that she was telling the truth and that Sammy was okay as long as the other was with him. He was surprised when Akira gave him ammo for his .45. He even said that bullets didn’t work on vampires. Then she had to give that annoying know it all smile that Sam wore sometimes and she told him that they were special bullets.

Dean loaded his gun and took the extra clips she gave him. Once that was finished, he strapped his machete to his waist. Better to be prepared for anything. The kachina was sitting on the duffel and looking at him with what he was sure Sam’s trademark puppy dog look. He wagged a finger and said in a low voice, “Don’t you go giving me that look. You’re going to do as we say alright?”

The kachina made some sort of noise and continued to look at him. He gave it an annoyed look before pulling out more gear from the duffel. For the past fifteen minutes, he and Akira had been setting traps around the area. Some were made obvious to spot while others were made to be hidden. They were pretty simple but would get the job done if they were to rescue Sam. He pulled out the silk bag that had the explosives that Akira said would be like throwing hot oil onto human skin for the vamps. He pulled out one and noticed the blue purple glow. “UV lighting?”

Akira turned to look at Dean, “Hot oil for vamps. Remember the bright light in the alley?”

Dean frowned as he looked at the explosive. He remembered the flash of light. Dad did say that direct sunlight was like getting a really bad sunburn. If it mimicked direct sunlight, then maybe… He then shrugged his shoulder and put the little explosive into his pocket. It might come handy and it appeared that there were plenty more in the bag. “What you want to do with them?”

“Last resort. We should probably place them at the site overlooking the altar.”

Dean looked at Akira as she was watching the dock. It occurred to him that these little things could possibly be nasty to her and her friend. He didn’t say anything though and went back to the overlook that they agreed where there was the best sniper position. He dug a small hole and put the bag in it and covered it with brush. He began to notice that something wasn’t right. When he got back to where Akira was, she had the shotgun in her hands and that bag slung over her shoulder. She appeared that she had been waiting for him. “Ready?”

“You get the feeling that something isn’t right?”

Akira gave a slight twist of her head in puzzlement and frowned. It made Dean uncomfortable slightly that the movement she did was so similar to what Sam would do. It was gone when she said, “It’s quiet… like the quiet before the storm.”

Something then made Akira turn her head towards the dock. Her eyes widened slightly and she motioned for Dean to get down. Dean dropped and made his way over to where she was looking. Peering into the darkness he could make out a boat had arrived and he saw the occupants get out. One of them was Sam and he was followed by Angela and some tall dark guy and half a dozen other people. Dean muttered, “Sam.”

Akira grabbed his shoulder to stop him from doing anything rash. She muttered, “Come on.” She then pulled him down the path to the first stage.

****

Sam looked around as they arrived at the island. He wasn’t sure where they were at but it was pretty isolated. It was a pretty good place to hold a ritual. Few people would notice anything out of the ordinary. He thought about Dean and hoped that his brother had a plan. They continued to walk towards where the vampire wanted to take them. He saw an altar and a strange container that was oddly glowing. It contained the souls. He was pushed to move forward and at one point, he noticed that there were fewer of Suarez’s minions. He frowned wondering what was going on until he noticed something moving in the brush. Was it Dean? Sam knew he had to make it look like he didn’t notice anything and let them push him forward once again. He then heard an angry mutter and turned to look at Angela.

Angela was stiff as a ramrod the whole trip since Suarez’s goons had not let up on showing the knives. She followed compliantly while studying their movements. She had an idea roughly how to escape but even she knew that there were too man to fight off at once. So she bore it quietly, making sure that they didn’t heckle Sam. She couldn’t prevent the shoving since she had one of their knives poking at her back. She had enough though when she felt the blade press against her spine for what seemed like the thousandth time though it might as well have been an eternity. She whirled around and knocked the blade out of his hands. “Don’t do that again.”

The response was a backhand to her face. Sam responded with a punch of his own. The end result was the others striking him. Angela recovered though and shouted, “Stop!”

The vampires and demons stopped and stared at her. Angela glared at them before diverting her gaze to Suarez who was looking at her with a bemused expression. She then said, “Call off your dogs.”

Sam rubbed his jaw where he had been hit. To keep him from doing anything else two demons grabbed him and held fast. One tried to punch him but it was stopped by Angela grabbing the offending wrist and snapping it. She repeated, “Call off your dogs.”

Suarez watched her and held up his hand. “Fine.” He made a motion and his minions backed off. He then said, “You really are a pain in the ass.” He then snapped his fingers and Angela pitched forward as if something hit her.

“Angela!” Sam tried to make his way towards her but was stopped by Suarez sending him flying backwards into the dirt.

Angela fell forward and began coughing. She recognized the bile taste in her mouth and spit it out. Bloody mucus came out and it became hard to breathe. She recognized this tactic well and she knew the truth. She spat and said, “Somebody’s been dabbling again.”

Suarez kneeled next to her and grabbed her hair to pull her head up to look at him. “You’d be at the same if you just give in. But we all know why you won’t.”

Angela widened her eyes as she glanced over to see Suarez’s minions haul Sam to his feet and tie him up near the altar. She knew what Suarez was getting at. She grimaced at the thought though it was mostly from what Suarez was doing to her. She then felt herself being lifted up and flung over where she hit the altar with a thud. Suarez strolled up to her and then picked her up and slammed her onto the altar. Angela groaned slightly feeling the stone smash against her back but she managed a smile to spite Suarez. “At least I’ve got a soul.”

Suarez was quick as he bent over her. He then whispered, “Is that what you call it? You and I both know you are nothing but an empty husk full of the good stuff.” He then pulled out a knife and held it close to her face.

Angela tried hard not to flinch upon the sight of it. It wasn’t like the others but she knew what it was going to be used for. Off a distance, she could hear Sam grunting and trying to get free. She then heard something. She twisted slightly as if trying to resist. She then heard it again and smiling she looked at Suarez and said, “You can certainly try.”

Suarez’s smile turned into a snarl as he grabbed her arm and drew the knife on the underside of her forearm. The blood oozed out with its tantalizing smell. At that moment a gunshot reverberated throughout the night and one of the vampires keeled over gasping as it bled out and died. Another came out hitting another, startling the other demons.

Angela looked at Suarez and said, “Looks like your little party is going to be interrupted.”

“Don’t count on it.” Suarez then took the knife and drew again across her forearm to draw more blood. He then barked at Hanson, “Start reading!”

The demon nodded and pulled out a tome and started reading. Angela tried to struggle as she felt Suarez sniff her blood and then ran his tongue along the length of the cuts and lapped up the blood. As soon as she felt his tongue touch her blood, a rage began to boil inside.

****

Dean and Akira followed the group until they stopped at the altar. Dean watched as Sam struggled and for his troubles received a few punches and was then sent flying through the air. He wanted to run down there and start shooting but he followed Akira’s lead. While the group was traveling they managed to take out a few of the vampires that were near the rear. By the time the group got to the altar, the numbers were significantly reduced. Dean was starting to think that there may be a chance. They hadn’t harmed his brother seriously and it looked like it was mostly the Angela chick taking the brunt of things. He glanced at Akira who nodded and pulled the bag from Mistress Chen out of the bag she had carried.

Akira set up the ground for the ritual. Once it was ready, she went back to the hill. She knew that she had been heard by Akira and Sam must have spotted her or Dean since they tried to grab their attention. Now she had the shotgun ready and pointed at the closest vampire. She looked at Dean and he nodded. At that moment, Suarez had already started his cutting act on Angela and at that moment, Akira fired the first shot, hitting a vampire.

It was enough to get the vampires moving in fear as Dean started firing at more vampires. He wasn’t sure if it was a good time but then he decided to go with it. He jogged over to where he buried the little bombs and pulled one out. He ran back over pulling the pin and with a controlled throw, threw it over into the middle of a group of vampires. It exploded with the most blinding light he had ever seen and the screams were inhuman.

The vampires that weren’t burnt to a crisp were running away. Dean pulled out his machete and ran down the hill slicing off vampire heads as he made his way towards Sam. The two vampires guarding him put up a fight. They were like the bastards that ganged up on him and Sam the other night. Having learned his lesson, Dean ducked and gave his own punches before slicing off the head of one and shooting the other in the head with the special ammunition. He gave a smirk at Sam and said, “You just had to get into trouble didn’t ya… bitch.”

“Jerk. Cut me loose Dean. Suarez has already started,” Sam replied as he struggled to get free of his bonds.

“Yeah, yeah. Keep your skirt on,” Dean replied as he began cutting the rope. Once he freed Sam, he handed him the .45 and said, “Trust me. The bullets work.” He gave Sam some of the extra clips.

Sam took the gun and locked and loaded. He then spotted Suarez with his mouth on Angela’s arm. The trail of blood going down her arm was like a river. Next to the vampire was the demon that punched him in the cell. It was reading something. “Dean, they’re beginning the ritual.”

Dean looked over to where Sam was looking. Seeing the vampire sucking the blood was like watching porn but it was rather creepy. “Come on.”

The two brothers started running towards the altar when the demon Hanson looked up. His eyes were an inky black and he gave a feral grin. Sam and Dean found themselves flying through the air until they were pinned to nearby trees. Dean struggled and it felt as if there was a weight steadily pressing on his chest keeping him pinned. He couldn’t even raise his arm to throw his machete. He glanced over at Sam who was struggling against the same force. The demon said, “Don’t move,” and he went back to reading the ritual.

Dean grunted. “Hurry up, Princess!”

****

Akira managed to get some stragglers while Dean freed his brother. Once the boys were armed, she returned to the spot where she had set up the ritual. She lit the incense and pulled out the scrap of paper that had the words written on it. Nearby was the kachina standing there watching what she was doing. Akira looked at the kachina and then an idea came to her. She asked a silent question to the kachina and the little figure chirped in Anasazi.

Akira closed her eyes to remember the specific words. They came to her with clarity and she began to recite the words. The kachina chirped as a light enveloped it. Once she was done, Akira said, “Go help the boys.”

Akira diverted her attention back to the ritual. She hoped it was going to work even though she didn’t have the last thing. She glanced at the paper with the words. _I hope this works._ She then heard a sound she had hoped never to hear again. She began to recite even faster with urgency even as she heard Dean tell her to hurry up. She continued the ritual.

Meanwhile, Dean and Sam were struggling against the demon’s hold on them. Dean felt as if his lungs were being crushed. Every time he moved, the pressure became tighter and tighter. Looking at Sam, he could tell the same thing was happening to his brother. “Sam.”

“Dean… stop struggling…” Sam managed to croak out as he made his body go limp. Sam started to pass out and his head dropped.

Dean grunted and struggled harder, “Sammy!” His vision then began to blacken as he started seeing spots. Then he heard a chirping sound and a loud roar.

The demon Hanson had finished the last of the ritual when he was grabbed from behind and slung across the grass. He roared in anger as he collided with something hard. He looked for what had thrown him and his eyes widened.

Dean suddenly felt the air rush into his lungs as he and Sam were released from their confines. Whatever attacked the demon was strong enough to disrupt the demon’s concentration. He looked up and his eyes widened in confusion. He scrambled on his hands and knees to check up on his brother. Sam was out cold but he was breathing. Dean picked up the .45 and cocked it. He aimed it and fired.

Hanson felt something rip through his lower back and he roared in pain. He then felt something tear into his chest. He looked down and saw a fist thrust into his chest. He looked up into the face of his attacker and his eyes turned into the familiar inky black. The hand then ripped out and he roared again. He then felt his life force draining and the tug of hell. Bloody Anasazi magic.

The kachina had used its magic to kill the demon and send it back to hell. It chirped angrily as it tore into the demon and recited the ancient words. The demon writhed in its grip as it was slowly being consumed from the inside out. When it disappeared into the bowels of hell, the kachina chirped angrily that it sounded like a snort before heading over to Dean.

Dean wasn’t sure whether or not to shoot the darn thing. It was no longer the tiny annoying pest but a huge man size doll. He held the gun pointed at it as he watched what it did to the demon. When it walked over to him, he tried back away but it came closer. It chirped at him and rubbed his head fondly. He then said, “You’re rather big.”

The kachina let out a chirp that sounded more like a laugh. Dean gave a nervous smile as he got up and tried to nudge Sam awake. “Sam. Sammy?”

Sam groaned as he came to. The first thing he saw was the huge kachina and he jumped, “Dean! What is that?”

Dean looked over at the man sized kachina and replied, “Well apparently it is that little doll thing that keeps following me around.”

The kachina let out an angry chirp and thwacked the back of Dean’s head causing him to scowl. Sam said, “It’s definitely the kachina. Dean we gotta stop the ritual.”

“I know Sam. Come on,” Dean replied as he hauled his brother to his feet. They turned towards the altar where the jar of souls was glowing. Suddenly Dean felt a rumbling under his feet.

“Dean?”

Dean couldn’t say anything. Instead he watched not sure what to do. He then shouted, “Akira we could use a little help now!” Suddenly the vampires that had remained and had run away were back and started in on another round of fighting.

****

Suarez lapped at the blood that flowed. It was just like the others but there was even more appeal to this blood. It was different though as if there was something else. He wanted it all and suckled on the cut veins to draw more of it out unaware that the body under him was quivering with rage.

When Hanson finished Suarez continued to drink. He didn’t need to drink any more but he wanted to drain her dry. The jar of souls began to glow but he didn’t notice. The blood was intoxicating and he closed his eyes and reveled in it. He heard the jar break as the souls began leeching out and were absorbed into him. He could feel it mingling with the blood he had consumed and it empowered him.

The ground began shake underneath as the power of the old ones started crying out to be released. Only one could be released and it fought through. Like demons in the cloud of black smoke, it leeched up from the ground and flowed in a torrent, forcing Suarez away from the altar. He landed hard against a rock and sat still as the smoke flowed into his mouth.

Meanwhile, Akira managed to get down to the altar. She did everything she was asked of but when she saw Angela lying there, she knew it didn’t work. Cursing she knew she had to stop Suarez. Looking over, she spotted him as the last of the black smoke flowed into his mouth. For him it was finished. She slung the bag off her shoulder and grabbed the first thing her hand closed around. It turned out to be Absolution. She gave a slight sigh of relief since Absolution was built for this. She pointed it at Suarez as he stood up with his eyes glowing.

Suarez gave a feral grin at the second half vampire that appeared. He said in a distorted voice, “You think you can stop me, princess?”

Akira pulled out her own blade Kiryu and held it with Absolution, ready to attack. She replied, “You must be sent back demon.”

“The name is Goren, Lord of Immortal Darkness.” Suarez then conjured a wicked looking blade and pointed it at her. “And now it is my turn to rule once again.”

At that moment Sam and Dean came running towards him while the kachina was keeping the other vampires busy, triggering the traps that hadn’t been triggered yet. Suarez/Goren grinned as they got close enough and with a look yanked them both forward, forcing them to skid along the ground. He then pinned them. “I’ve always hated you hunters.”

Akira sprang forward and delivered a glancing blow with Kiryu and landed. The kachina also sprang forward to protect its person. It managed to deliver a strike with its wings only to be flung back into a tree where it was forced back into its original size. Akira had been slapped by a clothesline maneuver and landed on the ground. She saw the kachina on the ground in its small size. She couldn’t get to get big again if she wanted to now.  She looked at Suarez/Goren and sprang again.

Dean was getting pissed at being pinned but this time he couldn’t move at all. He managed to turn his head to check on him brother. He spotted on of the vampires standing over him. The vampire was going to swoop in for the kill.  It was leaning over his brother and its teeth had protruded forward. “Sam!”

Suddenly the vampire flew backwards. Dean couldn’t see where but as soon as he looked up there was another vampire trying to get to him. He then saw something strike it in the head and it landed on top of him, causing him to grunt. Looking he managed to see what looked like an arrow protruding from its skull. _Wait a minute. Arrows don’t work on vamps unless it has been soaked in dead man’s blood. What in the hell could kill a vamp?_

Dean’s internal monologue was interrupted by roars of frustration and he saw another vamp, or was it a demon, flying through the air. His brother Sam was struggling to break his bonds and it looked like he did for he was forcing himself up only to be tackled from behind. With the combined power of the demon’s power and being held by another, Sam was helpless. Dean looked over and saw the .45 lying nearby. He reached out with his fingers, his hand flailing, trying to grasp it.

****

The sound of metal clanging and the flash of sparks was familiar territory for Akira. Since she was a little girl, her father had trained her in swordsmanship citing that there would be a time and a place for it. It had been one of many hints that he had passed to her regarding her heritage. She sprang back to make ready for the next charge. She could see the smoke coming up from the blades from where they had collided with Suarez/Goren’s blade. She panted heavily while he taunted her, “If this is the famous Kuran stamina, I am not impressed. Nor am I impressed with the so called princess of the Kuran clan.”

Akira glared at her opponent and replied, “You’ve been asleep far too long.”

“And I’m glad to say that I am back from the grave… so to speak.” Suarez/Goren then lowered his blade and started to circle her. “Now I tire of this fighting. You are obviously one worth your weight. What do you say to a compromise? You join me and I’ll let your human pets go.”

Akira glanced over to where Sam and Dean were struggling under the power of Suarez/Goren’s hold. She looked back, “You know as well as I that the Kuran line stands against your kind.”

“So that’s the way it’s going to be? You will betray those that created your kind for the mud monkeys?”

“If it means that they get to live in peace from your kind.”

Suarez/Goren sighed in disappointment. “Oh well.” He then launched his attack becoming much faster than he previously was. He would deal with the traitors and then the meat suits.

Akira tried to counter but the enemy blade got through her defenses and pierced her arm deeply, forcing it to go down. She countered with one of her powers but it was like and annoying fly. She was punished with an electrical blast that sent her crashing into the altar. Akira looked up and saw Suarez/Goren advancing towards her with the electricity still crackling. He raised his arms to send another blast but was careened off his feet and he landed on his back. Suddenly there was someone standing between her and Suarez/Goren and he said, “You!”


	11. Chapter 11

Angela felt pleasure and rage as Suarez lapped at her blood. She also felt weak and realized that he was intending to drink her dry. She struggled until she saw blackness creep around the edges. In the background she could hear the shouts of the Winchesters. Her last thought was that she had failed as the world blackened around her.

She woke up in a vast white area. It was blindingly white and she looked around wondering if she was dead or not. She also realized that she was still dressed in that monstrosity she had been wearing all day and groaned. “Now I know I’m not dreaming if I’m wearing this.”

“I find it rather fitting that you wear such a garment. It is befitting your station.”

Angela turned to find herself face to face with another woman. The woman was dark olive toned with pitch black hair. She was dressed in linens and gold jewelry. Her face was lined with eye liner painted in patterns that were familiar in art history books. Angela knew exactly who she was standing in front of and replied, “You always did like to be traditional my lady. Tell me, what does Isis, the Goddess of Immortals want with me?”

“You must finish what has begun. You must send Goren back to his body.”

Angela rolled her eyes. She sighed, “I know that but in case you haven’t noticed, I was or probably am bled dry. I pretty much failed in that department and I failed in my promise to John Winchester.”

Isis smiled and chuckled, “Yes I know of that promise. He made you swear upon my name to do so. That is why I am here. I am to send you back.”

“Right and what good would that do? The bloody ritual didn’t work.” Angela crossed her arms in annoyance as she paced the empty space in front of the goddess. “We did everything it called for and nothing happened.”

Isis sighed as she looked upon her favorite daughter. Much was left to be explained but all in good time. Now she had to understand why it didn’t work. She replied, “There is a champion and it is already there.”

“Oh so it was the princess then. I wouldn’t have guessed but in case you haven’t noticed, she’s too young to host something so powerful and while the Winchesters have that something special within them, humans would hardly be the perfect thing for a spirit to be riding around in. So that left me to take in the spirit and the bloody ritual didn’t work!” Angela gave a swipe of her hands to emphasize her point. She then went back to pacing in frustration. Sometimes talking to the goddess was a pain in the ass.

Isis laughed at Angela. “This is why you are my favorite, child. You are willing to take burdens away from people and shoulder it yourself. You are selfless in this regard, the one quality that is hard to find in a champion.”

Angela was pacing not really listening too hard until she heard the last part. She stopped and glanced at the goddess. “What are you saying?”

“The reason it didn’t work is because there is already a champion present.”

Angela took a moment to process completely what was being said. “Wait a minute. You don’t mean…?”

“Why else would I ask the Seer to interfere on your behalf?” Isis gave a tolerant smile. “The Centurion has done its duty for centuries as the Seer said they would. However the more finer points of the Old Religion evade their grasp such as the nature of champions.”

“You can’t possibly be serious that I…” Angela looked at the goddess incredulously, “And why me and why now?”

Isis placed a hand on Angela’s shoulder. She gazed into the girl’s tawny eyes and said, “I know what drives you. You seek to be forgiven and it can be seen by all who are connected at the level that I occupy. Consider this your chance. The past is connected to the future so to speak.”

Angela was about to say something when she heard something in the distance. It was a voice talking and she recognized it as her own. She listened closely and her eyes widened. She hadn’t sung that song in over twenty-three years and it was one she had completely made up. She remembered back to when she first sang it. She then looked back at the goddess and said, “So this is my penance?”

“Keep fighting and maybe you can forgive yourself. Right now you must go back. You need to keep your promise.”

Angela opened her mouth but then she heard the sounds of battle. She heard Sam and Dean and Akira. Their voices were disjointed but she could make out that they were in the middle of a battle. She then heard Suarez’s voice but it was warped. He had the demon in him. She looked back at the goddess with determination and said, “Send me back then.”

Isis nodded and closed her eyes to work her power. Angela found herself enveloped in white and the room disappeared. The voices became louder and clearer as Angela opened her eyes. She found herself lying on the altar and she could feel the blood flowing down her arm. She had been drained but now she felt a surge of strength. She twisted around and saw Sam and Dean in trouble. Focusing she managed to send the vampire on top of Sam flying with her mind. She ended up falling off the altar and landed next to the slender bag with the Orion weapons. With a deft movement, she pulled out the bow and an arrow. From her position on the ground, she managed to send an arrow flying where it embedded itself into the skull of another vampire that was trying to take a bite out of Dean. She nearly sunk back into unconsciousness when she heard Akira talking the struggles of the Winchesters. Her mind became focused.

Angela drew upon the powers that were buried within her blood. She slowly got to her feet and saw Suarez advance. However she didn’t see the vampire’s familiar face but rather the face of the Ancient that was riding him. Her eyes turned into glowing orbs and she sent a wave of power that blasted the demon backwards. She then vaulted over the altar to land between Akira and the demon. She replied to the demon’s surprise, “Disappointed?”

The demon rose to his feet and smiled with menace. He replied, “Not at all. I was afraid you were drained dry by the meat suit I’m riding.”

Angela gave a curious twist of her head but maintained her stoic appearance. She replied, “Then I guess nothing more has to be said.” She then gave a slight twist of her hand and the pressure that had been applied to Sam and Dean were released.

The demon merely smiled and gave a slight chuckle. “Well I see you are ready to fight then.” He then tried to use the same lightning on her that he had used on Akira.

Angela leaped to the side and completely dodged the blow. She focused on a nearby boulder and sent it flying at the demon. He blasted it into tiny shards. It was enough to distract him for Angela had charged right up to him and began on the slug fest. She fell back onto the martial arts that she had practiced and honed into killing maneuvers.

The demon countered with his own moves. A couple of times they locked limbs and each forced each other away. Both failed to notice that the stragglers had come back and were fighting the Winchesters and Akira. Goren was enraged at the champion that was battling him. She didn’t fight like the honorable warriors of old and she resorted to dirty fighting on occasion. It was moments like that when he drew upon his meat suit’s memories to counter her. Occasionally he used his powers and she countered with hers to the point where he realized that she still was not at full strength. It appeared her only effective power was her telekinetic ability. It was a common enough power among most half breeds but hers was unusually strong. He on the other hand had the power of the ancients but unfortunately his meat suit was not able to handle it very well.

Angela noticed that something was happening to Goren. Suarez’s body was becoming burned in several places. She had seen that before on beings who hosted champions. Sometimes powers were too great and the host body became damaged often irreparably to the point of death. It seemed that Suarez wasn’t a strong enough vessel. This could work to her advantage. She sprang forward again but had to spring back when a sword whipped out in a slash to catch her.

Goren managed to retrieve the sword he had conjured and tried to slash at her. She was too quick and sprang away. Still she had no blade and he kept lunging forward trying to cut her. He said, “You’re at the edge of the cliff. Where are you going to go?”

Angela narrowed her eyes as she anticipated the next attack. Even though she was in bare feet, she was able to run and dodge. She then heard her name being called. She turned and saw Sam throw something at her. She recognized it as Absolution. She ran and just when Goren swung again at her, she jumped and twisted to grab her sword in midair. She followed through by swinging the blade to block Goren’s blade. It hit with a resounding clang and a flash of sparks as Angela landed on her feet. She pulled back in an attack position. She replied, “Only one is going over the edge and that’ll be you.” She then lunged forward with a swipe.

****

It felt a relief to finally be able to move as Dean felt the oppressing weight lighten off him. He sprang to his feet and grabbed the .45. If it was a miracle, he also found the shotgun that Akira had brought down and tossed it to Sam who had managed to get to his feet. “Sam.”

Sam grabbed the shotgun and cocked it. It probably wouldn’t work but if it had ammo that the .45 had, then that was fine with him. He wasn’t going to ask since the last weapon to have ammo like that was the Colt and it was gone now. He brought up the shotgun and took aim and fired at the nearest vampire. It keeled over dead leaving Sam a chance to move towards the altar. He then caught a glimpse of Angela.

He watched as she dodged attacks and sprang forward to counter. What surprised him was that she lifted a boulder and sent it flying. He had only seen her use her hands and feet as well as anything that was handy to use. When the demon possessed vampire brought out a blade, Sam instinctively knew that she was going to need something else. He looked around. Dean was busy shooting and swinging. Akira was actually exorcising demons. By the altar, he spotted something glowing silver. Running to the altar, he found that it was a sword. Picking it up, he noticed that it gleamed. He then shouted, “Angela!”

 When he caught her eye, he tossed it at her. It was watching something in slow motion as she twisted away from the demon’s blade to catch it and follow through with a strike of her own. Sam knew he had to turn his attention back to the others. He whipped up his shotgun and started firing. He chased one up the hill and fired, killing the thing. Turning to go back, he tripped over a small hollow in the ground. Kneeling, he dug at it and found the silk bag. He pulled it out and found that there were two left. He took one out and pocketed the other and continued running back to help his brother.

Dean spotted Sam and said, “Nice of you to join us.”

“Bite me, Dean,” Sam replied as he fired at a demon. It screamed in rage as it died.

“Don’t be jealous just cause you got your ass whipped by some demons.”

“Right and being tackled by a man sized girl kachina spirit is so much better.”

“Hey,” Dean held up a warning finger.

Sam gave an annoyed roll of his eyes and went back to work. From the direction of the dock, he spotted a group of vampires running towards them. “Dean.”

Dean turned to see the group. There were about ten of them heading towards them. Even with Akira’s help, things could go bad. “Crap.”

Sam pulled out the little grenade that he had palmed. He showed it to Dean. “Think this’ll work?”

“Sure thing.”

Sam pulled the pin while Dean loaded a new clip in. It was his last one. Dean then said, “Do it Sam.”

Sam waited and then lobbed the grenade at the oncoming horde. He didn’t expect the blinding flash when it hit and shielded his eyes. He could hear the screams of the vampires as they ran towards the lake and started trying to soothe the burns. A few of the bolder ones tried to continue forward. For the Winchester brothers, the odds were in their favor as Akira joined in, charging swinging her blade. Sam backed up with the shotgun and Dean moved in with his machete.

At one point, Sam felt the need to go back. Normally he wouldn’t leave his brother behind but a quick look told him that Dean and Akira were pretty near done mopping up the vamps. He turned and ran back up the hill. Pausing by the altar, something caught his eye. The bag that he had seen earlier was open and he could make out the weapons he had seen. A clang brought his attention to the battle being fought. Without a second thought, he reached into the bag and grabbed one of the weapons.

Dean brought down the last vampire and gave that chuckle of a smile. He said, “Nothing like a good hunt right Sam?”

When Sam didn’t respond, Dean looked around, “Sammy?”

Again when Sam didn’t answer, Dean tried not to panic. Sam was not one to go out on his own unless he had to. Checking the .45 and making sure he had some rounds left, he started backtracking. He failed to notice that Akira was watching him leave with a peculiar expression. She followed him at a slow walk listening to the sounds of battle between her friend and Suarez.

****

The blade swiped at her, intending to cut her torso. Instead there was the tearing of cloth as she leapt backwards. Angela paused to look down. Right where her stomach was, there was a lateral rip in the material. _Great now I owe Marisol for a dress too._ Angela looked back up at Goren who was grinning in an unrepentant manner. It was a means to hide the fact that his host was not handling the possession very well. She said, “I see you missed yet again.”

“You’re doing well. Any other would have killed himself by now.”

Angela backed away and began a predatory circle around Goren. She held Absolution pointed downward almost as if she were conceding. It was an illusion however. She replied, “No. They would have gone down fighting.”

“Indeed. You know I never got you Centurion. You think we are all evil beings yet we are only striving for the things we want in life. The same as the pathetic humans you protect.” Goren lowered his blade and followed Angela’s movements.

“I hardly call making those ‘pathetic humans’ slaves an equal opportunity moment.”

“And you of all people cast judgment. After all it was the rebellion of your more pure blooded kin that brought your kind into existence. Then it is hunters, like the Winchesters, that hunt down your kind along with the others. Yet you still protect them. Why?” Goren actually looked confused at her defense of humanity.

Angela gave a puzzled twist of her head but didn’t relinquish her stance. One slip and it could be all over. That was all it took in this line of work. She then replied, “I am what I am. Perhaps it is my human side that allows for compassion, anger, guilt and all the emotions humans are capable of. Perhaps that is why your kind doesn’t understand.”

Goren looked at Angela. He knew talking to her would get her to lower her guard somewhat. Now he sensed and opportunity coming. In fact with his meat suit’s heightened smell, he could smell it. He played the part, “Perhaps you are right. I am incapable of feeling guilt when I do this.” Then with a sudden look he sent the approaching Winchester flying hard into one of the boulders lying about.

Angela saw the movement and with it, saw Sam flying through the air and strike the boulder where he fell and writhed on the ground in pain. Angela reacted and lunged forward with a swipe and she leapt over another boulder. Her blade clanged with Goren’s as she went on the offensive, pushing him back as she struck. It didn’t last long for Goren was able to counter her with equal skill and recklessness. They locked blades and Goren taunted her, “Aww did I hurt your precious human?”

Angela’s response was a shove that released her blade from its locked position. She was ready for the strike and the clangs and sparks began to fly. The smoke was steadily becoming visible and thick as the two combatants locked blades again and again. At one point, Goren went for dirty fighting and used a sneak attack to knock her sword completely out of her hand and used a hard punch to the chest to send her flying backwards.

Angela felt her back hit the dirt and felt slightly winded but she was coherent enough to know where she was. She sat up and got slowly to her feet with her eyes never leaving Goren’s advancing figure. She winced slightly feeling the pain from the punch. She was certain there was going to be some bruising but that was the least of her worries. Absolution was a fair distance away but she was confident she could summon it. She tried to while keeping an eye on Goren.

Goren saw what she was trying to do and she was failing miserably. He taunted her, “Are you running out of juice my dear? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the Centurion knows what a brave soldier you were.” He then raised his blade to strike when he pitched forward.

Angela could make out the tip of a sword piercing Goren’s torso. She also hear Sam’s voice saying, “Not if I get you first.” Looking at the blade tip and when Goren turned around, she realized that Sam must have grabbed the Orion sword when he came to help her.

Goren was enraged at the human and grabbed him by the neck and exerted pressure, cutting off air flow. He looked at the human and said, “Tell me human do you know who I am?”

Sam could feel the air being choked out of him and tried to stay conscious. He tried beating on the arm that was holding him but it was having little to no effect. The fingers were squeezing tighter when a hand came down grabbing the arm that held him and gave a twist. Sam felt himself drop to the ground where gasped for air. He was having a hard time breathing and wondered if his windpipe had been crushed. He glanced over to find Angela dodging the demon’s swings as well as blocking while delivering strikes of her own. It became difficult to stay conscious with the lack of air and the pain from probably half a dozen bruises plus his ribs were burning and he wasn’t even going to think about the puncture he received the night before. He felt it easier to cave in to his body’s demands even though he tried to force himself to stay awake.

Angela lunged forward after blocking the swing and delivered a rib breaking punch of her own to the demon’s chest. She watched it stagger back and she advanced forward. A stolen glance told her that Absolution was still a fair piece away but she was determined to get it into her hands one way or another. She looked over at Sam who was near a state of unconsciousness and off in the distance she could hear Dean calling for his brother. She knew what she had to do and there would be no room for mistakes. Goren was getting up now. She charged forward.

Goren was surprised that she managed to get a good one off of him and he actually relished in the pain that she gave. It had been too long since someone gave him a good beating. He got back up and twisted his sword arm to make sure that it was still functional. His other arm was sore and probably broken but that didn’t matter since as a demon he could hold any meat suit together. He failed to notice the gleam in the girl’s eyes that would have warned him that she was planning something. As soon as she charged, he charged as well. This would end now.

Angela swooped in and countered with blocks and strikes. She could feel the speed and the power behind the strikes increasing but she could also sense the demon was on its last legs. She had to act now. In a desperate move, she raised her left forearm and blocked the blade. She felt the metal pierce the skin on her forearm and felt the biting sting of pain but pushed it aside as she angled her body downwards and to the left towards the ground and summoned her blade.

It was like feeling the clasp of a friend’s hand as the metal of the pommel touched her palms. Her fingers closed around the handle and twisting upwards, she slashed Goren across the chest, drawing blood. With a twist, she jammed her blade upwards and into the cranium and held on. She said, “May you find absolution in Hell.”

Goren had a surprised look on his face when the blade slashed across his chest. The stunned look was still there when he felt it pierce through his jaw and into his brain. His eyes looked at the cold determination of the half vampire before him while he felt the power of the blade work its mojo. He could feel himself being pulled down. It wasn’t death, well it might as well be, where this blade was sending him. She said it herself that he would find absolution in Hell. Hell was where he was going and he got the distinct feeling that if he managed to crawl out, she would kill him the next time. He managed to croak out, “And may the fight bring you pain.” He then slipped away to where she sent him.

Angela waited until the light went out of the demon’s eyes before yanking it out. She knew that Suarez was dead too since Absolution was made to kill anything supernatural. Looking down at the bloody corpse, she took a deep breath, feeling the air rush into her lungs. Her fingers were clamped tightly around the grip of Absolution and she had a hard time moving them. She could move her arm though as she lowered the blade and looked around. She spotted Sam lying on the ground and with slow steps she walked towards him. When she was kneeling next to him, her fingers finally managed to let go of her sword. She looked at him as he opened his eyes. All she said was, “Nice going Sammy.”

Sam managed to open his eyes and was startled to find Angela hovering over him. It barely registered that she had called him by the nickname he hated. He replied, “Sam.”

Angela laughed, relieved that Sam’s head was all right. She leaned back until she was sitting on her heels. She looked at her arm where Goren’s blade had cut her and noticed that it was rather deep. Instead of a clean cut, it looked inflamed as if it were infected. As if to confirm it, she started to see dark spots appear at the edge of her vision. _Great._ As the blackness took over, she was aware that she had heard voices and then sank into darkness.


	12. Chapter 12

“Man I’m glad to see the end of this town. Maybe we could swing by Bobby’s for a little R&R. How about it Sam?” Dean was busy loading the trunk of the Impala with their gear plus a few odds and ends that Akira tucked in citing that they may come in handy. One was the last grenade that they had used. At first Dean tried to offer it back but Akira said that he would probably need it more than she or Angela did. It took some time but Dean became convinced that there was no ulterior motive to the offer. Now that the job was done, they were going to hit the road.

When Sam failed to answer, Dean looked up from the trunk and looked around for his brother. He found him leaning against the car staring at nothing in particular but was rather deep in thought. Dean couldn’t tell what he was looking at but it was downward. Dean spoke again, “Sammy?”

Sam heard Dean the second time and said, “Yeah fine whatever.”

Dean shut the trunk and walked over and leaned next to his brother, “Fine my ass Sam. Come on get on with your chick flick moment.”

Sam gave a scowl at Dean, “Shut up… Jerk.”

“I will if you give me a reason, Bitch.” Dean grinned back at his brother. His eyes then strayed down to Sam’s forearm. The tattoos were still there looking like they were done fresh that day. Dean frowned slightly before asking, “Weren’t those supposed to go away?”

“When the job was done.”

“Well it’s done so what if they aren’t gone. Chicks dig tattoos Sammy,” Dean replied giving a pat to Sam’s back.

“Then why don’t you get one?”

“Because I’m the oldest and the handsome one.” Dean gave that cocky smile was a signature expression guaranteed to start the name calling.

“Bite me.”

“Sam, just ask Akira to take it off. I’m sure she would know how. She’s a walking encyclopedia like you. Come on.”

Sam rolled down his shirt sleeve and was going to say something when the door opened. He looked over to see Angela coming out. She didn’t acknowledge them though and went around to the garage in the back. The next few sounds were the door opening and the roar of an engine which turned off briefly and the sound of the car parked in front of the Impala erupted and pulled into the back, disappearing from view.

Dean had caught the roar of the engine from the garage and said, “Now I know one of those chicks appreciates a classic.”

“Dean, you don’t even like her.”

“What do you mean?”

“Angela.”

“So?” Dean frowned slightly at Sam. “I may not like her much but I like that she knows cars. I’m betting she was the one who gave my baby a spit and shine. Now I’d like to see what kind of ride she’s got.”

“Why so you can get a car orgasm?”

“Shut up, Sam.” Dean started to head to the back leaving Sam to shake his head.

Sam watched his brother disappear to go ogle at whatever ‘beauty’ Angela pulled out from the garage. If it wasn’t women, it was cars for Dean. Sam decided to go back to thinking about how to best get rid of the tattoos or just appeal to Akira for help. He had avoided Angela ever since that fight on the island for reasons he wasn’t sure of yet but he found that he missed her company. He had been worried when he regained consciousness to find that she had passed out and had a nasty cut on her forearm that looked infected.

As it turned out, it was some type of supernatural poison that had been on Goren’s blade. It wasn’t fatal since Angela fought it off during the night. She did say a few things that Sam overheard when he went to get a glass of water. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop but he couldn’t tear himself away as she kept saying, “Please forgive me… I’m sorry… please…”

When she woke up, she retreated and went about preparing to lock up the house. If anything though, she avoided both him and Dean during that time and Akira just gave knowing smiles and took to willfully ignoring everything. She even ignored it when Angela worked herself to near exhaustion claiming that she was not in the mood to lose a limb or two even though she knew Angela needed to take a break. It was somewhat because of that Sam hadn’t approached Angela about the tattoos she had given him. Now that the house was ready for the next set of hunters, they were getting ready to leave and Sam had one last chance to find her and talk to her.

He actually didn’t have to go anywhere for out of nowhere Angela appeared in the same spot where Dean was earlier and she asked, “How’s the head?”

Sam tried hard not to jump but he did slightly much to her amusement. He replied, “What is it with you sneaking around like that?”

Angela shrugged her shoulders and replied, “Just a habit. I’ve been at this game far too long to change too much.” She gave a playful bump with her shoulder, “So really how’s the head?”

“I’ll live. Dean’s fine too by the way.”

“I know. Otherwise he wouldn’t be drooling over my car right about now.” Angela grinned up at Sam. Instinctively her right hand rubbed her wrapped forearm in an absent minded fashion. “Always did like the classic muscle cars.”

“That and Dean’s taste in music.”

Angela let out a chuckle, “Not really. I tolerate it but truth be told I like different kinds of music. I just like being irritating with it.”

Sam couldn’t help but laugh along with her. It took his mind off the white gauze wrapped around her arm. “I can see that. Well I heard that when we were in the car. And you were in a dress.”

Angela gave a smack with her hand before laughing. It really was funny that she had gotten worked up over wearing the damn thing. She decided to pay Sam back in his own coin, “Right back at you preppie.”

“Fine, you win,” Sam conceded. “So… where are you heading to now?”

“The princess has to get back to the Academy. Me… just traveling wherever until I find a job. That’s how it usually works.” Angela shrugged as she gave a sigh. She was looking forward to the next job but she also had some uncertainties now that the Winchesters were aware of her existence.

“Do you always go alone?”

“Usually I do. Few members of the order can stand me. I’m pretty much the outsider and some make sure I know that I’m there on sufferance.” Angela leaned heavily on the Impala and placed one of her boot heels on the toe of the other and tapped it as she crossed her arms.

Sam didn’t say anything for a few moments. In a way she was a freak like him, the outsider; the one that didn’t really fit in. Yet they were different. He had his brother but who did she have? From what he saw, she and Akira were friends, close ones but it wasn’t the same. “At least you have a few friends,” he finally said.

“Yeah I suppose. Makes life a bit more bearable but in the end time has a funny way of dealing a blow,” Angela replied. Realizing that she was going into a ‘revealing your whole feelings’ moment, she quickly backed off and added, “I suppose you’re trying to find the right words to ask me about your arm?”

Her bluntness caught Sam off guard but he wasn’t completely fooled. He recognized that tactic well. Heck he and Dean used it on each other when they didn’t want to discuss feelings though it was more like Dean to do that. Thinking about that had Sam chuckle a bit. Seeing the curious look on her face, he explained, “Just a memory but yes I wanted to ask you about them.”

Angela nodded. She then smiled mischievously, “I suppose you don’t want to be a chick magnet do you?”

“You’re just as bad as Dean at times you know that?”

“Are you kidding? I’m better at it than he is. I’ve had practice… years of practice.”

“Fine, you win again,” Sam returned with a smile. He then rolled his sleeve up to show her the tattoos. “Can you remove them?”

Angela peered at the markings she had given him when she dream walked. She recalled just pulling out the marker and drawing. She had no idea what she was doing at the time but it felt right and necessary. Now she peered at them as if looking at them would help her recall the words. _The job is never done but this one is._ Then as if something were prodding her mind, the incantation came to her. She muttered the words and then the markings were gone. “There. Now you can bother me when and if I go dream walking again.”

“Like that’s going to happen.” Sam uttered the reply automatically as he rolled the sleeve back down. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Angela leaned against the Impala before pushing herself back to an upright position. “Before you and Dean take off, you might as well grab a bite to eat. Akira will be disappointed since she made pie.” She gave a shrug of her shoulders as if it weren’t a big deal before turning to head back into the house.

Sam watched her go in before looking back at his arm. Sure enough they were gone but he caught a glimpse of Angela’s eyes. It was as if she knew that the job was never going to be over but she was going to remove it anyway. She was a peculiar woman and a good hunter. He recalled vividly how she caught her sword in midair and executed that move. His dad would have been impressed if he had seen her. John Winchester had spent years training both his sons to go through physical endurance tests in order to hunt. It was something to think about as Sam fixed his sleeve and went to pry a drooling brother away from the mysterious muscle car in the back.

****

“Thanks for the pie. It’s the best ever!” Dean indicated his pleasure with his fork heedless of the fact that some of the pie was spraying out of his mouth.

Akira said nothing as she shook her head in amusement. Dean’s lack of table manners made Angela’s obscene love of unhealthy food seem like a mere after thought. She briefly wondered what Dean would say if he knew that it was Angela who made the pie and not her. She glanced over at Angela who was giving a slight smile as she focused on her piece. Akira then replied, “Glad that you like it. I made an extra one for you boys to take on the road."

Dean’s eyes lit up at the prospect of more pie. He reached over and grabbed the last of the pie and continued eating.

“Dude, you need to work on your table manners,” Sam said as he pushed his plate away.

“Shut your pie hole, Sam.”

Nothing more was said until Dean was finished and everything cleared. Sam and Dean grabbed their bags and headed out the door. Akira followed holding the pie just smiling at nothing in particular. It got larger when Dean opened the driver’s side of the Impala and he burst out, “Oh hell no!”

Sam was laughing while Dean was batting his arms wildly trying to get the kachina off of him. He said, “I think she wants to say good bye Dean.”

“I don’t care if it does the hula. I just want it off of me and we’re not taking it with us!”

The kachina gave a sad chirp and grabbed Dean around his neck. It had a death grip on his jacket heedless of the annoyed look on Dean’s face. It chirped again and clutched tighter. Dean gave an annoyed toss of his head and said, “Look you were good in a fight but I don’t want some possessive kachina hanging around.”

“Dean, I think she’s going to come no matter what,” Sam replied still laughing at his brother’s discomfort.

Dean was about to retort back when Akira said, “She can’t leave anyway. She’s bound to this house.” Her face then went thoughtful and she added, “Unless…”

“Don’t you start on the ‘unless’ part unless you want me to gank you,” Dean warned.

Akira gave a slight narrowing of her eyes as she smiled slyly. She then said in complete defiance, “Unless it chooses its companion.”

Sam’s grin got even wider and he had a hard time trying to keep the laughter in. Dean was scowling at Akira who merely smiled. Dean said, “Come on this isn’t funny.”

“I’m completely serious. I knew it the moment she jumped onto you. I was hoping it was rather a phase but it seems that she’s rather attached to you.” Akira shrugged her shoulders as if to apologize but her smile said otherwise.

“At least there’s one woman who wants to be with you Dean,” Sam was laughing.

Dean was going to say something when the kachina stood upright on his shoulder. Dean looked to find Angela standing very close and was startled but her attention was focused on the kachina. She muttered something and the kachina gave a chirp that sounded agreeable and in an instant it turned back into the still statue it was before it declared its devotion to Dean. Angela smiled as she picked up the kachina and handed it to Dean. “It’s yours now.” She then turned and walked away to lean against the stairs where she continued to watch the debacle with an observant face.

Dean held the kachina now turned statue and waved his hands as he spoke in a sarcastic manner, “Thanks a lot. Why didn’t you just take the damn thing?”

“Dean just put the kachina in the car. It’s obvious they’re not going to take it back,” Sam said shaking his head and smiling. He opened the passenger side of the car to get in.

“Don’t forget your pie,” Akira smiled sweetly while she held out the pie to Sam.

Dean looked at Sam and Akira who were enjoying his discomfort at the fact that a doll had the hots for him. _Sammy is so going to get it later._ Even though he felt like crushing the damn thing in his hands, he gently set it on the dash. He gave a final scowl, “Come on. We’re burning daylight Sam.”

Sam gave an amused shake of his head as he took the pie from Akira. She didn’t let go right away but instead said in a voice low enough for Sam to hear, “Tell Dean to remember the word I said when I showed him how it works.” She then released her grip and turned to walk away towards the car Dean had been drooling over.

Sam got in the Impala trying to make sense of the whole thing. He had a puzzled frown on his face as he put the pie down between him and Dean. The motor of the Impala roared its familiar purr as Dean shifted gears and said, “Well let’s get the show on the road.”

Sam looked out the window and saw Angela still leaning against the staircase. She glanced back at her car and then at the Impala before pushing off to head to the back. Watching her, Sam made a decision. “Hold on a moment Dean.” He then opened the door and got out even though the Impala was reversing.

Dean stomped on the brakes as soon as Sam sprang out of the car. “Dammit Sam!” He watched as Sam jogged up the driveway calling out to Angela. He grinned slightly though. _Sam you sly dog. I didn’t know you went for the freaky._ When he glanced at the kachina it looked as if the thing was laughing at him. He said to it, “Shut up.”

Sam jogged back up the driveway, “Angela. Wait.”

Angela didn’t bother to pretend not to listen. She turned around and asked, “What is it, Sam?”

Now that he was in front of her, Sam was not sure of what to say but he knew what he wanted to say. He said, “Thanks for helping us out on the job.”

“Somehow I get the feeling that’s not what you wanted to say,” Angela replied. When Sam started to protest she raised her hand slightly to stop him. “It’s all right Sam. I’m not used to working with others but this was a good experience. If anything I should be thanking you and your brother.”

Sam looked at Angela with a puzzled look, his mouth slightly open. He was speechless for a few moments and then he managed, “Can I see your phone?”

Angela wondered what he was getting at and gave a slight smirk. She pulled out her cell phone and handed it over. She said, “Please don’t mess with the specs.”

Sam took the phone and flipped it open as he teased, “Nothing like that. I’d much rather not be on the receiving end of your sword.” He gave a slight smile. He entered in a set of numbers. When he was finished, he handed the phone back still open. “This is my number. Um if you need help on a job. Give me a call.”

Angela looked at the numbers entered on the screen and then glanced at Sam. It was an act of friendship and it was offered without reservation. She clicked on the save button and put it back in her pocket. “I’ll keep that in mind. Let me see yours.”

Sam handed his over and she repeated his gesture and entered in her cell number. “Here’s mine. You guys ever in trouble or just need a bit of muscle…” She handed the phone back.

am took his phone back. “So I guess I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah,” Angela replied with a smile. “Right back at ya. Now I think you should go before Dean gets any funny ideas.”

Sam smiled at the thought. Dean would probably tease him about exchanging numbers or something equally worthy of the gutter. He then looked at Angela who was looking at him with a strange look. It was quickly gone and it had Sam wonder if he was imagining it. He said, “Well take care of yourself.”

“You and your brother do the same.”

Sam nodded and headed back to the Impala. As soon as he got to the car, it started raining lightly. Getting in, he said, “Let’s go Dean.”

Dean threw the car in reverse and backed out. Once they were a couple of blocks away and heading on the highway, Dean said, “So you got her number?”

Sam rolled his eyes slightly. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Dean.”

“Come on, Sam. I never thought you’d go for someone like her.”

“I just gave her my number just in case she ever needed help on a job.”

Dean gave a laugh clearly indicating that he didn’t believe a word Sam said. “Sure Sam.”

“Hey, I’m not the one that a kachina doll latched on to.”

“That was low even for you Sam.” Dean went quiet for a moment. “You think we’ll ever see her again?”

Sam kept his gaze forward. He got the feeling that they would meet again. Thinking about it, there was something about Angela that was familiar like they might have met before. “I don’t Dean. Maybe.” He turned to gaze out the window at the landscape as the Impala drove onward towards their next destination.

****

The Mustang ate up the miles as it sped down the highway. The radio was blaring out Bon Jovi and the tune was accompanied by Angela singing as she beat the rhythm on the steering wheel. Akira looked over at her friend as they sped towards the Academy and gave a slight smile. “You’re in a good mood.”

Angela delayed answering for a moment to finish the song. Being polite, she turned down the radio. “Just enjoying being on the road again and I get to dump your ass back at the Academy.” She looked over and flashed a grin.

“Glad to know that I’m held in such high regard.”

“Ah don’t be an ass wipe. Fang boy will kill me if I give you back to him in that state.”

“He does have a name you know and his friend is rather sweet on you.” Akira gave a knowing look at Angela. She gave a playful punch along with the look.

“Please. He’s never done anything more strenuous than taking down Fang Boy in a match. Not impressed.”

“I see. Someone else impressed you”

Angela didn’t say anything at first. Then she said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Akira gave a knowing grin. “I think the name was Winchester but which one?”

 “Shut up.”

“Ice Bitch.”

“Princess.”

Nothing more was said as Angela drove. As she drove, she thought about what had happened during the last couple of days. As she told Sam, normally she worked alone. The couple of times she was paired with someone, they resented her. This was different. The brothers could have easily turned on her with her blunt ways. Dean had been won over with the fact that she had kept Sam from harm but more so with her car. Sam had been the persistent one in being friendly. Perhaps maybe she was on the path she had been seeking all her life: the path of absolution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap for the first episode. Thank you for reading. Leave your reviews, good, bad, ugly or go away. Stay tuned for 1.02 Phantom of the Point.


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